The History of the Metal Lawn Furniture...What we know now - as seen on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon - 1/23/2017!Close out on Safari Coolers - 30% Off until inventory is gone! Close out on Standard Parkane and Skylark chairs!20% off Coolers through January 31st!Check out our Vintage T-shirts, Retro Coolers! Just Like Mom'n them had, only better!! Just Like Mom'n them had, only better!! Why Buy from Us? Check out our Fly Rods Fly Fishing Rods The Book about Metal Lawn Chairs Buy It Here >Metal Lawn ChairsVintage Metal ChairsVintage PatioVintage ChairRetro ChairPatio ChairsYard ChairNeat FurnitureYard FurnitureForwardMetal lawn chairs! Brings back childhood memories. May have to get one or two.Painting RefinishingPainting FurniturePainting TipsFurniture RedoDistressing FurnitureLaminate FurnitureDecorating FurnitureFurniture UpcyclingRefinished FurnitureForwardShine up your metal lawn furniture with carnauba paste wax made for cars.Once a year, apply an even coat with a damp terry towel, let dry, lightly buff with a soft cotton rag.
Wax repels water, prevents rust, and restores luster to dull paint.Vintage metal outdoor furniture looks stylish and allows you to relax and enjoy your lawn or patio. At Zinger Hardware, you'll find a variety of retro metal patio furniture in classic and popular 1950's styles, like Thunderbird, Bellaire and Parklane. We offer both antique metal lawn chairs and retro patio chairs that have all the style of the fabulous fifties with some modern improvements to make them more durable. The retro metal chairs on our site boast heavy gauge steel frames that ensure they will not warp due to heat or age. Thanks to a UV resistant powder coat finish, painted chairs and tables will keep their bright colors and resist fading or chipping. Stainless steel hardware also keeps furnishings from rusting or corroding over time or due to exposure to the elements. Along with being attractive and durable, our outdoor retro furnishings are available in a variety of bright colors, and you can choose from shades like Raspberry, Tangerine and Pear.
We do occasionally get questions about the differences between the Thunderbird and Bellaire style vintage metal patio chairs. Besides the main visual differences in the shape of the back of the chair, the Thunderbird chairs and gliders have a more ergonomic shape. The Thunderbird style has a seat pan that is slightly contoured and the back is curved to provide more lumbar support. The Bellaire design is a slightly older vintage style and does not have these features. The standard chairs have a weight rating up to 275 pounds, but heavy duty versions are also available below that are weight rated up to 325 lbs.Have you ever eyed an old set of 1950s-era metal lawn chairs and thought, with just a little TLC, those would look extremely cool in my backyard? You're probably right, says refinishing expert Teri Masaschi, author of Foolproof Wood Finishing: For Those Who Love to Build & Hate to Finish. The real question with metal pieces is: Do you actually want to make them look good as new?
And if the answer is yes, how much time and effort will it take to restore those pieces to their former glory? The first thing you want to consider with metal furniture, Teri says, is whether you even want to remove rust and other signs of wear. "The industrial look is really hot right now," she says. "If you have a piece like an old metal workbench from a factory where they manufactured parts, and the metal has taken a beating and there's an old rusty, dirty patina with hardly any paint left, well, people are putting those in their kitchens now. You don't want to touch that, because it will hurt the value of it. The most you'll want to do is wash it with soap and water." This may be especially true for old metal lighting with clamps, candlesticks, and brass and iron beds, so look at them through a contemporary lens before you decide to refinish. If you can't incorporate them into your own look, you might want to sell them instead. to get a feel for what people are buying; good keywords to use are "vintage," "rustic," "rusty chic" and "industrial."
, including this clothing hook (Image 1), old milk bottle box (Image 2) and service bell (Image 3) from Vintage Lancaster. Some metal furniture, on the other hand, needs improving. Your decor may not call for a shabby touch, and some pieces — such as lawn chairs — will come into too much contact with bare skin to make leaving rusty edges practical or safe. But know that you're in for some sweat (and maybe tears). Assuming you want to paint them, you'll have to get rid of all of the rust first. “You need to get down to new, clean metal,” Teri says. For a candlestick, that might not be a big deal, but for a neglected set of four lawn chairs, rust removal could take you several weekends to complete. You'll need a wire brush for the first round, and then a sander with 60- to 80-grit sandpaper to smooth out the surface. "It's a tremendous amount of work," Teri says. "But some people love that." Design blogger Andrea Clem, of Oasis Accents, tackled her grandmother’s rusty old lawn chair as a DIY project.
Image 1 shows the chair after Andrea sanded it down to clean metal. "I thought my arms were going to fall off," she says. Andrea used a wire brush and a cordless drill with wire attachments for rust removal (Image 2). She applied a rust preventive primer and several coats of light green paint to make the chair good as new (Images 3 and 4). If you can't face the prospect of that much elbow grease, you'll need to take your piece to be professionally sandblasted. (Sandblasters are usually listed as such in the phone book, but sometimes an auto body shop is a good resource as well.) A set of four lawn chairs, depending on the condition they’re in, will run you at least a few hundred dollars. After your surface is rust-free, what remains is simple: painting. Spray paint works as well as anything else, Teri says, but be sure to use a primer specifically for old rusty metal or previously painted surfaces. (And for lawn chairs, use paint marked "indoor/outdoor.") Follow the instructions on the can closely, paying special attention to the window of time it recommends between coats.
Plan to use a couple of coats of primer — with scuffing in between to give the paint a surface to adhere to — and a couple of coats of color. It's a time investment, to be sure, but the payoff depends on how much you love the piece. "The sad thing is, those retro lawn chairs that you love, they're reproducing them now in China and you can just buy them outright," Teri says. "But they're not as good as the old ones. The metal is not typically as heavy a gauge and they’re not as sturdy and rugged." You can expect to pay about $100 per chair for a reproduction. You can also find refurbished or good-condition pieces on eBay and Craigslist for a bit less. If your motivation is making something durable with your own personal touch — not to mention preserving an heirloom or recycling something that would otherwise end up in a landfill — refinishing a metal piece yourself can certainly be worth it. But considering the cost of sandblasting and paint and the time involved, if the look is all that matters to you, you might be better off going with a stylish reproduction or refurb instead.