Office chairs can be so ho-hum, which is why many see them as blank canvases just itching for a punch of personality, as evidenced by the plethora of makeovers scattered across the internet. Here are some of the fun and funkiest out there. But beware, gazing upon them might make you realize your office chair is a bit of a snoozer. First up is Kendra's project who not only recovered her chair, but also painted the frame and wheels. Joy wanted to make a cover for her office chair that she could easily remove and wash. The outcome couldn't be cuter. Chrissie picked up an old office chair at a yard sale. She stripped off its mauve vinyl upholstery, but instead of re-covering them in new fabric, she just left it off. A bit of pistachio paint and stenciling later, and it oozes character. Ashleigh and Sarah weren't overjoyed with the yellowish tinge of their wood chair. They decided to do a mix and match of paint and stain for their makeover. Steven and Alison found a mid-century office chair that needed a shot of life.
They refinished the wooden armrests and recovered the seat in back with a smile-inducing print. Jenny's MCM chair makeover might make some fans of the style a bit prickly, but those who love black will approve. For our last makeover, I'm afraid we'll have to image the before, but it isn't hard. No word on how to replicate the technique, but I'm guessing fabric paint and a steady hand. Talk about a blank canvas.(Image credit: Ashley Poskin) So what's the deal with vinyl spray paint: does it work, or is it a waste of time? I put three different paints to the test on three of the exact same chairs and was pretty surprised with the results. There are some pretty impressive Before & Afters floating around of old, ugly vinyl furniture having been given new life with paint. While I'd like to believe the painted furniture stays picture perfect, I just couldn't quite accept it was that easy —just paint it and that's it? I mean, paint dries hard, but fabric is flexible... I just couldn't believe that you could completely change the look of a piece of furniture for the price of a can of spray paint.
So I decided to do a bit of my own research. (Image credit: Ashley Poskin) I started with 3 almond colored, lightly stained vinyl chairs. Each chair was in the same condition, nothing major —just ugly. Once painted, I sat in, and encouraged friends/family to sit in the chairs every time they came over for two weeks. We wiggled, scooted, bounced and scratched. These are the results: This is not specifically a "vinyl spray paint" but the back of the can said it was intended for use on everything from metals and plastics to papers and fabrics. The main reason I wanted to try this paint was because it was offered in a range of different colors that the Rust-oleum brand didn't have. I knew I wanted to try to paint the welting in a different color, so it seemed like a good option.I ended up having to use two cans to cover over the original almond color of the chair. It comes out in a pretty thin stream and streaks very easily. Texture: The paint was a satin finish, the chair turned out the same.
Fabric was able to move without cracking, although I'm hesitant about the paint withstanding long-term use. I worry that since the coverage was so thin, minor cracks would start to show up eventually.I was unsuccessful in my attempts to knock any paint chips out of the chair. Overall: Even with multiple layers of paint, the surface kind of felt flat and insubstantial. Compared to a paint designed specifically for vinyl, this paint was underwhelming, my least favorite of the bunch. This can said it would have a "flexible vinyl coating" and states that it can be used on simulated leather and some fabrics. It also says it won't crack, or peel.The paint comes out in a pretty thick, steady stream for great coverage. I covered the entire chair in one coat and finished up by giving a few areas a second hit. Texture: The finish wasn't labeled on the can but it turned out somewhat shinier than satin, but not quite gloss. Flexibility: Good, fabric was able to move without cracking.
Overall: While it's the most boring chair to look at (This was the last one to be painted, all my creative ambition was used up on the first and second chair!) it's my pick for best overall and it's the paint I would recommend if you plan to paint and actually use a chair or another piece of furniture. This can says its for use on fabric & vinyl surfaces, simulated leather and some fabrics. It also says it won't rub off, crack, or peel. It seems more marketed towards automotive projects.The best coverage out of all three paints tested. It's actually kind of unreal, it sprays out so thick and textured that you don't really have a lot of faith that it will find it's "glossy" finish. Texture: I grabbed a can of gloss, and it truly is glossy -you might even say "high gloss".The fabric was able to move without cracking although it did take a while to get back to its original shape after being sat on. Chip test: Normal chair/sitting behavior was fine, however when I put it to the same test as the other chairs (using my fingernail to pick out a paint chip) it failed.
I was able to take multiple paint chips out of the chair. Overall: If I wouldn't have had an issue with the paint chipping, this can would have got my vote for "best in show". The coverage was fantastic, and could easily cover over a mended area on a seat. I would recommend it for use on a piece that you don't plan on using every day.There are so many old and sad vinyl chairs in thrift stores all around the world, just waiting for a can of spray paint to come to the rescue. This is the third or fourth time that I’ve spray painted an old vinyl office chair. In the past, I’ve used a spray paint specially formulated for vinyl called Dupli-Color at Autozone. It worked really great, but the bottles were a little on the pricey side, if I remember right. Now Rustoleum makes a vinyl spray paint too that you can often find in hardware stores. This time though, I used a less expensive and easier to find paint from Rustoleum that has primer built in and is (most importantly) formulated for bonding to plastics.
Before I spray-painted the chair though, I cleaned the vinyl really well. It gives me the creepy crawlies to think about the decades of germs and gunk potentially living on that chair. I like to use a hardcore degreaser called Krud Kutter that really helps to get the vinyl to ground zero. I wiped it down with water and wet cloth after the Krud Kutter too though, just to make sure all the cleaner was off the vinyl before painting. Here’s where I should have sprayed the whole thing with the white spray paint again. Remember my trick for perfect stripes? This would have been perfect here, but I spaced it and skipped that step (too many spray paint fumes?). Dumb move – I had to go back and do touch ups later. It wasn’t too bad though. I just sprayed a little paint into a plastic cup and touched up the bleed-throughs with a small brush. In fact, I made my thrift store rounds yesterday, looking for something for a project, and I saw no fewer than five of this exact chair or something very similar.