How to Restore Rusty Furniture

Finding the right set of table and chairs for your patio is no small task. When a homeowner realized her perfect set was starting to rust and show its age, standing out from the rest of her beautiful backyard, she knew a fresh coat of paint was in order. With the help of paint expert Mauro Henrique, the two restore the patio furniture with a bit of prep work and the right paint.

How to Paint Rusty Patio Furniture

1. Start by preparing the area by covering any surfaces you don’t want to paint with drop cloths.
2. Next, using painter’s tape, tape everything you won’t be painting. This includes the top, sides, and bottom of the chairs.
3. Use a flexible sanding or scouring pad to remove any of the loose debris and to clean up some of the rust.
4. Use a wet-dry vacuum to remove any of the dust and residue that sanding might have caused. Once vacuumed, wipe the furniture with a rag and denatured alcohol.
5. Use a rust spot primer made for metal. Spray only the rust spots. The rest will be primed in the next step.
6. Spray a coat of standard primer onto the metal surfaces. Make sure not to prime over the rust primer. Let the surface dry for 30 minutes.
7. Use the paint roller to apply DTM (direct to metal) paint. DTM paint should go on green but quickly turn black, if that’s the desired color. For tougher to reach areas, use a paint brush and a light touch to coat the surface.
8. Allow the paint to dry for about two hours, or according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Materials

• Painter’s tape
• Drop cloths
• Plastic sheeting
• Rags
• Shims
• Microfiber cloths
• Denatured alcohol
• Rust primer
• Metal primer
• DTM paint
• Paint sticks

Tools

Resources

To Prep:

• Drop cloths
• Pre-taped painter’s plastic sheeting
• Painter’s tape

To Sand Off Rust:

• Heavy duty scouring pads
• Extreme scrub scour pads
• Hand sanding pad – very fine, 220-grit
• N95 masks

To Clean Debris:

• Shop vac
• Denatured alcohol
• Nitrile gloves – denatured alcohol can irritate skin
• Microfiber cloths or lint-free cloths

To Prime:

• Rusty metal primer spray – spot prime rusted areas only
• Interior/exterior primer spray – optional to spot prime the non-rusted areas. Gray was used for this project since it’s better suited for dark color topcoat paints
• Shims – to prop furniture up
• Safety glasses
• N95 masks

To Paint:

• Direct-to-metal (DTM) acrylic paint in low lustre – black
• Paint tray
• Paint sticks
• 3/8” nap rollers
• 2” to 2 ½” synthetic brushes