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Dyeing Upholstery Fabric


Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 228 Posts
July 23, 2008

Turn a dirty old chair into a favorite easily with simple paint! I did this chair in an evening and it was terrible looking, but the sturdy well built condition made it worth lugging home!

I am offering before and after pics to show you what a little paint can fix!

By melody_yesterday from Sedalia, MO Chair before painting.

 
After painting.
 

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5 Questions

Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.

March 18, 2008

I would like to know if I paint a reclining chair with floral spray paint will the paint rub off on clothing? Thanks.

Laura from Wilson, NC

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Answers

March 18, 20080 found this helpful

It won't work. Floral paint is light-duty paint and won't permanently adhere to leather surfaces. It will flake off in no time at all.

 

Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 213 Posts
March 18, 20080 found this helpful

Floral Spray paint is TRANSPARENT. So, be aware of that. It won't REALLY cover your recliner, but IF you just want a hint of color & IF the can says 100% ACRYLIC, It would be okay to use. BUT, If it were me, & I REALLY wanted to re-color my chair, depending on what fabric your recliner is made from, I'd buy either a gallon of 100% ACRYLIC (NOT latex!) paint from Home Depot, (it can be tinted to ANY color & can be bought in ANY sheen). I'd then mix 1 quart of this paint with about 8 ounces or so of "Fabric Medium". You buy "fabric medium" in the craft paint or artist paint section of any craft store. This "fabric Medium" makes the Acrylic paint pliable & not stiff & crack. If your chair is made from LEATHER, then I'd use leather dye, NOT paint.

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After you've followed the directions on the bottle of leather dye & cleaned the chair, then dyed it, & let it dry & you've buffed it, then be sure to add several coats of mink oil or silicone over the top of the dye. Leather dye can be bought at Tandy Leather Company. I paint murals, fired tiles & detailed botanicals on Pottery for a living, for more info on paint, write me here on ThriftyFun. I really can't give you detailed info on how to do this until I know what fabric your recliner is made from. There are MANY types of dye, for many fabrics.

---> They sell a special Spray Paint at most Auto parts stores or in the paint or auto department of discount stores that's made specially to spray paint upholstery with. It's made to paint the interior of cars, headliners, bucket seats & inside door panels... Special formulated for fabrics, leather & Vinyl. If you want to spray paint your recliner, THIS is what you need! I've also seen this at some dollar stores, it doesn't sell very quickly because it's not regular spray-paint, but UPHOLSTERY PAINT.

 
By Laura Felton (Guest Post)
March 19, 20080 found this helpful

I would like to thank all the people who responded to
my question. I will be trying to do this in May when
I can take the chair outside. I love the chair and have

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put it in my bedroom so I can enjoy reading, watching TV
or simply sitting. The chair is a horrible, non-descript, icky, dark green and black, a real eyesore.I'm so
glad that there is a way to give it a make-over.
Thanks again

 
March 19, 20090 found this helpful

Paint is OK for wooden parts. For durability it should be topped with a wood finish like polyurethane. For vinyl, cloth, or leather, you will need an appropriate dye. (What the heck is floral spray paint, anyhow? You just spritz it on and you get a flower design? Patent that and you will make a billion dollars!)

 
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July 10, 2005

I've been thinking about trying something different with my cherry wood dining chairs with white cloth seats. Over the years, I've had several stains that I couldn't get out no matter what I tried.



Rather than bleaching, recovering or anything else with the seats, I thought maybe I could use some kind of dye, coloring or paint/stain to put a multicolor print on them. Is there some kind of dye or paint I could use to color the stained white cloth? It would be very unique, bright and pretty.
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I just worry that whatever I use may eventually begin wearing off on people's behinds if I don't use the right stuff!

Any guidance?

Thanks :)

Mary from Ohio...

Answers

July 12, 20050 found this helpful

I tried this with my dining room chairs a few years back (my daughter had taken magic marker to them)...I used Rit dye...however, I didn't exactly follow the directions, I think I left the salt out. The chairs looked beautiful when I was finished!...We had just redecorated our living/dining room in blacks and browns (I know it sounds like a dungeon but it's very restful). Anyways, we had some company over so we asked them to stay for dinner. My husband was wearing tan shorts and ran out to turn off the sprinkler outside, which squirted him a little in the behind.

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To make a long story short, we had a good laugh when he got up from dinner...his pants were BROWN on the seat and it's a good thing he has a good sense of humor! I'm not sure where I went wrong, it may have been not following the directions, it may have been the stain resistance on the seats that didn't allow the dye to penetrate, ....just BE CAREFUL! I ended up recovering them anyways which was really easy with a staple gun and they look nice again. My inlaws thought I got new chairs.

 
July 12, 20050 found this helpful

Like the suggestion below--it is really easy to recover the kinds of chairs that have the seat that screws off. Please try this instead of coloring them. You'd probably have to take the seats off to do that anyway, so why not just recover them with some great new fabric from the sale rack at the fabric store? You can even add a layer of clear vinyl if you choose fabric that is too thin or if you have youthful guests and you want to protect the seats.

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Just lay down the clear vinyl (buy it from the rolls at the back of JoAnn's or other full-service fabric stores), then the decorative fabric (face down), then plop your cushion face down on it. Pull the plastic and fabric around to the back of the seat botton, staple it, then screw it back on the chair frame.

 
April 27, 20070 found this helpful

I have used a fabric spray paint on my van and some furniture. It worked great. Dries soft and did not rub off.
It is called Simply Spray. They now have a special upholstery paint too. You can find it online by searching for Fabric Spray Paint.

 
By Linda (Guest Post)
November 11, 20080 found this helpful

My daughter called and was so upset. She somehow had left stains (brown) on several new pieces of clothes. What in God's green earth could take this out? Thanks, Linda

 
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January 15, 2009

I have a chair that would be very difficult to remove the fabric. The fabric is a sturdy cotton. Is there a way I can brush fabric paint or fabric dye on the material to change the color while it is still on the chair?



Donna from New York, NY

Answers


Gold Post Medal for All Time! 519 Posts
January 15, 20090 found this helpful

I know that there are painted pieces of upholstered - I know a colleague painted designs on a couch just with fabric paint.

 

Silver Feedback Medal for All Time! 270 Feedbacks
January 16, 20090 found this helpful

There are such things as COLD dyes that can be gotten at fabric shops. I know the Joann Fabric chain has them. Also, suggestions of using RIT is great. You USE the LIQUID form, not powdered. You can use a qtip to test an underside piece of fabric. The RIT website has directions for crafts, etc there. Also, you can use TEA or BEETS to color, or any other natural dye method.
Remember to do it outside or protect your flooring with heavy duty sheet plastic. WEAR GLOVES and old clothes. Also, get some sort of clamping item (I use kelly-surgical clamps) for so many crafts things and assists. You can find these in electronic shops as well.
OR get the small foam paint brushes to help put the color on smoothly.

 
February 14, 20090 found this helpful

Octoberbabye
Can you tell us what were the instructions from Michelle on DIY from BE ORiginal show about painting the couch. Did you try it - how easy was it and did the color turn out nice?

 
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