I've been painting fabric for 20 plus years. I've used house paint, poster paint any type of paint as long as it was water soluble. I've found the best way is to water down yr paint at least 2/3rds paint to 1/3rd water. Sometimes I've even done 50/50. Means you need lots more coats but the paint soaks right into the fabric. I usually give it a wipe over between coats with a soft scouring pad or sandpaper. If recently been adding fabric softer or hair conditioner to the last 2 coats. Again running over the fabric with a scourer between coats. Years ago I also mixed PVA glue with my paint to seal it, this also worked Really well. Cheerz from Australia
@@Bnh-ug8ei hi, I did half conditioner and half fabric softer. I sprayed down the fabric. I've just painted my 2 bar stools with plain old kids cheap poster painted. They took about 4 coats and worked out really well the color doesn't come off and the fabric feels the same as it did before. I'm going to give them a coat of 50/50 water and PVA glue to make them abit stain resistant. I've found to keep the fabric as close to the feel of the fabric, its best to do more coats and water down the paint to actually dye the fabric as opposed to painting it. Good luck ✌🌻😊
@@wombat333 Love your tips! I'm new at trying this and am a bit confused and hope you can clarify some things for me. When you did half conditioner and fabric softener, what was your ratio to the paint and water? How much PVA glue did you add? Was it to the paint water conditioner softener mixture or something else? Also regarding the PVA glue, if it wasn't added to the 4 part paint mix referenced at what point was it added?
I used satin on a flamestitch chair just like that but I put fabric softener in the paint. It looked like leather so it was perfect. I used a med Tourquois.
THANK YOU! This was very helpful. I rescue dogs and have been wanting to paint my sofas but I need something more durable. I've been considering trying a primer too so this was really really great.
I loved it with the original fabric texture showing through. It's good to know that you can keep the original texture, or not, depending on the primer. Thanks for the video!
Hi. For many years I have painted old Dec chairs with acrylic paint. I put them in the shower to fully wet them so they tighten back up. Let them dry. Mix 2/3 paint 1/3 water and paint away. 2 to 3 coats. I have not had any trouble and they last year's. Plus when they get wet I just dry them with a rag and can sit on them right away. Your tutorials are great.
Hi do you mean the ordinary acrylic paint or acrylic enamel or acrylic latex paint? And do you think I could use acrylic paint on top of the chalk paint? Thank you
@@dominikarybakkowalska386 hi. I think acrylic is latex, not posative. And if we make our own chalk paint we just put something in the acrylic . for the chairs I do all layers mixed with water. Just the first layer has more water so it soaks in to the cloth. Cause I don't want the paint peeling. Consider getting an old pillow to use to experiment in. I wouldn't use enamel. But then if it's water base and you can water it down?? Try on old pillow.
@@mylocalflorida.yes I do. Plus I don't wet the fabric before I paint it. After wetting to shrink it back to original I let it dry. This will feel like a plastic finish but it's not yuckie.
Does completely soaking the chair not end up with mold problems? With all the stuffing under the upholstery etc I feel worried that it would end up rotting.
Regarding stiffness - I’m just starting to look into this, and have seen three videos before yours (saved yours for last (best for last!) cuz I REALLY wanted to avoid using pricey chalk paint. However, the former videos all did something in common - to make it softer, they sanded with a very light 400 or 600 weight sand paper BETWEEN each coat, even with using chalk paint. I wonder if this is all that is needed with your finished product? To lightly sand it out, wherever it’s rough (or all over if needed). Thank you for this inspiring video!! I’m sold, and will use a regular primer on the first coat - a great discovery you made..and shared ❤ Oh, and love the idea of satin finish to avoid staining! And I think it came out BEAUTIFUL. Nice result!
And they've also used Downy fabric softner mixed with the water to combat the stiffness. I personally would buy latex house paint with primer and use the fabric softner. I just painted my refrigerator and dishwasher with watered down chalk paint. A bright lemony yellow. Took about 5 coats but I love it!
Thanks for testing this out for us. Love the testing with primer and stain release. Have just found your site and subscribed - looking forward to more great diy's!
I’ve always wondered this. I latex painted an ikea couch without primer and found that the old color showed through so I had to use too many coats which ended making the fabric crunchy. Never thought about doing primer first. Had I used primer, I would’ve used less latex paint, and the fabric wouldn’t have been so stiff. Will do this on the next project. Great way to renew a dated chair that would’ve been thrown away anyway.
Thank you! I am working on a video right now where I use Kilz Primer mixed with water and fabric softener and then Tulip fabric paint. Paint goes on tomorrow. :)
I actually made this video and ran out of the dye just when they stopped making Fuschia. I finally found some online and it was delivered a couple days ago. I will get that done in the next week. Thank you for asking- Wendi
Other people who paint on upholstered chairs say to sand the material between coats and at the end. What is your opinion and how is the chair now 2 years later ?
So I tried with the downy. Have to test the ratio paint:downy on a piece of fabric and try a few coats. I had to put quite a bit of Downy for the fabric to not feel stiff but that works and made a canvas drop cloth quite soft after a couple of coats.
@@ginadaley5414 It _will_ feel soft if you really work your (very diluted) chalk paint into the fabric with lots of water, that way you're in effect, dyeing the fabric - I've done it myself with a velvet sofa, and it still feels soft like velvet. Latex-based paint however will always feel like it has a 'surface' on it.
I bought some old chairs that had stains on them. I successfully got the stains out, the original color was off white. I used water, clorox and Dawn dish detergent. I was surprised as to how clean they ended up. They even smelled a whole lot better. I don't know yet if I want to paint them but I'm leaning toward that.
I don’t have time to read all the comments, so maybe out someone already said this, I feel like if you primed it with a Kilz type paint first that maybe you would have less trouble with stains coming through. I have watched videos on using chalk paint and so I am just comparing information. Thanks for sharing.!
There's a product that you can get from Hobby Lobby diamond hard I plan to use this product on some end tables not sure if I can use it on a couch and it's a repurposed interior exterior acrylic satin and it sticks to any surface without sanding or priming smooth finish durable and scratch-resistant
Thank you so much. I am new to paint in general. I'm glad I found your video. I've watched many other videos before I found yours. They say to lightly sand it down in between paint to soften it up a bit; that was about chalk paint. I wonder if it it soften this latex paint if you lightly sand it a bit. Again, thank you.
Excellent! Thank you so much for the tips! Great job! I've seen where they've done 4 coats of chalk paint. Can you just add the primer to the latex paint instead of painting separately?
So I did a test on some RV cushions and I use the latex paint that I had which already had a primer in it. I’m on the second coat and it feels very rough.
All the chairs/couches I've seen painted,they sand it afterwards to soften it up..I see you didn't do that..maybe you should try that & see if it softens it up..
I wonder if stained area use primer BUT then time reset after 48 hours feather in so its more uniform? ALSO- maybe 50/50 water paint with added primer in it, several coats-48 hour betqween- lightly sand with 400 grit? and last coat MAYBE?- add "soft water based wax"?tytyty for sharing
So I watched this video, painted my fireside chair with kilz premium primer. So when I'm getting ready to paint the chair with my satin paint, do I spray it with water in addition to mixing my satin paint three parts paint one part water? Thanks for the tutorial
Hi! Hmmm.. Chalk paint isn’t make from latex... btw. Right? Isn’t latex like acrylic? Basically plastic. I’m a mixed media artist and the qualities of acrylic/latex and chalk or clay based paint are very different. The clay based paint I use, Debi’s DIY has nothing but natural ingredients. I tried using regular latex years ago and it felt crunchy and I didn’t like it. Clay based paint feels like fabric when you’re done if applied right and can be very cost effective because it’s so pigmented and takes very little to create a dye..
No sealer used since I used satin paint. The reason for using it is to avoid sealers which don’t tend to behave right on most fabrics. It changes the look and texture and to me, it’s wax, so could it come off with warm bodies sitting in it?
Yes but chalk paint or latex paint is not that great on it. It will be stiff and stay pretty stiff. There are videos online that claim their chalk paint can paint it and it is soft, but they are trying to sell the paint. Chalk paint is made from latex paint so it's going to be stiff. Velvet is also the hardest to dye because of the the plush fibers.
So I have a red fabric gazebo out back and of course the red has faded very badly after two summers but the fabric is in good shape. I wonder if I tried this technique and used exterior paint if it will keep it from fading. Any thoughts?
I have 2 fabric cornice boards I want to paint and was wondering the same thing. I love the cornice boards and want to keep them but they need to be updated. I am just hesitant not knowing if they will turn out and I don’t want to ruin them. It looks easy enough so I guess I just need to bite the bullet abs go for it. Thanks for the great tutorial video.
0:11 Er... chalk paint is _not_ made from latex paint! It's made from calcium carbonate, water, and pigment powder. It's all the DIY chalk paint hack videos on YT that tell you to make it from acrylic paint as a way to save money!
It isn't what chalk paint is made from, it's often used when making it, yes. The science part, 8lbs for under $30 I get mine. Don't use plaster of Paris, noooo
