How to Spray Paint Fabric

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Oh yes, you read that title correctly….the answer to can you spray paint fabric is a resounding YES!  Over the past few months I had been desperately trying to figure out how to handle this situation with my patio furniture:

While I love my World Market patio set I must have been thinking crazy when I ordered white cushions last year because they quickly went all to heck with the dirt and grime of three boys and a dog!  Replacement cushions were $$$ and my aversion to sewing left me reluctant to make my own covers.  Y’all….I even cut them open on the back so that I could take the fabric off and wash them.  It helped.  A little.  For a few days.

You might also be interested in how to paint plastic or how to paint a plastic playhouse.

Simply Spray Fabric Paint Review

Anyways, during a late night google search I happened to come across the answer I had been searching for: Spray It New’s Simply Spray Fabric Paint.  Seriously.  It is an actual spray paint for fabric.  Like, really made for fabric.  Not some mixture to concoct with fabric medium, this stuff is actually absorbed into the fabric and leaves a dyed surface-no crunchies whatsoever.  I was all over this.  I had to try it.  And so I did! (I bought my Simply Spray Fabric Spray Paint at Walmart but you can also find it on Amazon as well!)

How to Use Upholstery Spray Paint

I decided the Navy Blue Upholstery Paint would be the best option for the cushion.  Maximum camouflage for future stains and it will look just dreamy next to that pool we’re putting in this month.  You should have seen me rip open that box when it arrived! I immediately went and laid out my cushion and got to spraying.  Here it is after the first coat.

I had to admit, I was feeling a little nervous at this point.  This is a large cushion and it was looking a bit streaky.  I was worried it was going to turn out looking like old 80’s denim but after {many, many} coats here is the end result!!

I am so tickled with how it turned out! What do you think??

Review of Outdoor Fabric Spray Paint

Okay, back to the fabric spray paint…here is my no-holds-barred low down on using the Spray It New paint:

1. Overall it is fantastic.
2. It took me a LOT of fabric spray paint to get the deep non-streaky look I wanted.  I anticipated needing two cans for the one large cushion and it took four.  I could have used a fifth and will probably end up ordering an extra can just to get the few little spots out that I can still tell aren’t even. It’s still cheaper than a new cushion!
3. I found the best way to use it was to spray continuously.  Whenever I stopped and then when I started back up I got some splatters which I then had to rub into the fabric to fix (which required stopping and starting again-eventually I learned to stop and start away from the cushion!)
4. The little trigger hurt my finger like crazy.  Small price to pay though.

Got paint on your hands after your project? Learn how to remove spray paint from skin!

Fabric Spray Paint Update: 2 Years Later