The season for outdoor entertaining and eating is upon us and if you are looking to upgrade your patio set, you just might want to check your local Goodwill store. Today I wanted to share with you easy ways to update, refinish, and refresh an outdoor patio set into a set that is uniquely you with a few easy tools and strategies to help get you started.
I, in fact, recently refinished my old set (pictured above) and have fallen back in love with it again, thanks to an easy afternoon of spray painting.
Here are a few strategies for making over a set you might spot at your local Goodwill store.
Refinishing Metal Furniture
Rusting on metal furniture happens and if you spot a set that looks a little worn in spots, a makeover transformation is easy to do and requires only an old cloth to wipe down the furniture, sandpaper, and spray paint (in any color you desire).
Give your furniture a good wipe down to remove any dirt or debris that may be lingering from summers past. Use a medium-grit sandpaper to rub down any rust spots or imperfections on the furniture until they are level and no longer flaking off on the piece. Once the all of the areas have been sanded, spray paint the furniture and allow it to dry fully. I recently discovered a spray paint nozzle for recovering my furniture pieces and it really helps to coat the furniture evenly. If you plan to do a lot of spray painting to refinish your pieces, I highly recommend the small $5 investment to get a more even finish on your pieces.
image source: The Homemade Diva
Refinish Plastic Furniture
Plastic furniture is one of the easiest types of furniture to update. There is no need to rough up the plastic with sanding, in fact, all you need to do is purchase spray paint that is made specifically for plastic (I recommend Krylon Fusion for Plastic) because it specifically bonds to plastic and requires no priming or sanding.
I'm dying to score a few gently used Goodwill chairs to makeover for our back patio. You see, even plastic furniture can look trendy with the right colors and painting techniques. Stay up-to-date on fun trends, like paint-dipped furniture as pictured above from The Homemade Diva, for a fun splash of color on your patio.
image source: Being Brook
Refinish Wicker Furniture
Perhaps one of the most intimidating types of furniture to many DIY'ers is wicker furniture. There is no need to be intimidated though because it is easy to spruce up and to even make minor repairs to. Look for a waterproof glue to fix any minor repairs and make sure that the glue has plenty of time to set (read the back of the glue bottle for specific times) before beginning your painting.
After thoroughly giving the wicker a good scrubbing and air drying, spray paint your piece in several sessions of very thin coats of spray paint in your desired color. Try these spray painting wicker furniture tips from Rust-Oleum for refinishing your wicker pieces using their Rust-Oleum Universal spray paint line, that allows you to skip the step of priming.
image source: 33 Shades
Recover Old Patio Cushions
Old patio cushions can get a new lease on life with fresh fabrics. If you have ever priced out new cushions at stores, you quickly realize that it would cost hundreds of dollars to get new cushions for all of your outdoor furniture.
Did you know that you can actually buy weatherproof outdoor fabric at the fabric store? It's a handy tip to have in your DIY arsenal for a couple of different reasons. I actually used this material on my dining chair indoors to help with easy clean-up from spills and stains with two small kids. This same material can be used to freshen up your old patio cushions.
Although I am no seamstress, this tutorial from 33 Shades looks like a great one for how to recover old patio cushions. Next time you see these at your local Goodwill, consider trying this DIY to get new cushions at a fraction of the retail price.