Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

  • Shop Our Houses
    • Our Current House
    • Our Richmond House
    • Our Beach House
    • Our Duplex
  • Before & Afters
    • Our Current House
    • Our Previous House
    • Our Beach House
    • Our Duplex
    • Our First House
    • Our Second House
    • Our Showhouse
  • DIY & Decorating Tips
    • Most Popular
    • Home Improvement
    • Painting
    • Cleaning & Organizing
    • Crafting & Art
    • More . . .
  • Painting Projects
  • Plants Guides
  • Shop
    • Our Fav Home Finds
    • Our Lighting Line
    • Our Books
    • Book Club Picks
    • Black-Owned Businesses

Young House Love » Furniture & Building » How To Spray Paint A Metal Outdoor Patio Set

| By Sherry Petersik | July 14, 2011 | 288 Comments

How To Spray Paint A Metal Outdoor Patio Set

Waste not, want not. That was my attitude when it came to using up the rest of the oil-rubbed bronze spray paint from this project that I had leftover. So I turned my attention to the mismatched patio furniture that we inherited from the previous owners (seen here in an old photo with my dearly departed ceramic dog, sniffle).

Outdoor Back Patio

Sure, I like painting things white (and white ceramic animals, and white chocolate among other snow-colored objects) but sometimes white things outside = grungy. As this shot demonstrates, any time it rained little dirt and leaves splashed into the crevices of the table and looked all grubby.

Old Table White1

Parts of it were peeling too:

Old Table White2

And you should have seen this guy in March/April in the height of allergy season. Yeah, it was fuzzy and yellow. So I figured a coat of ORB spray paint could cure his everything-shows issue. And unify those chipping black chairs.

Patio Chair Peeling

So I just dragged everything out to the yard, set them down on items from our recycle bin (namely magazines & cardboard boxes)…

Chair Before Spray

White Table Before Spray

… and sprayed away.

Table Sprayed

Especially satisfying? Taking the nasty parts like this…

Patio Chair Peeling

… to this (gotta love that ORB glistening-in-the-sun phenomenon):

Patio Chairnotpeeling

Voila.

Table Sprayed0

Patio Sprayed

Table Sprayed2

Update: Here’s an affiliate link to the spray paint we used over on Amazon for anyone who can’t find it in stores. 

Base Sprayed

The whole shebang took about an hour and a half. Maybe two if you count brushing everything with a stiff brush (from our dust pan) to shake all the junk off, and carrying stuff out to the grass and back after they were dry. Oh and it took another can of ORB to get all three pieces done, but we figure spending a little more for that second can and using the rest of our leftover one (from this project) sure beats investing in new patio furniture.

Patio After00

Patio After Last

You might not see it yet, but adding some pillows (or chair pads), some swagged bulb lights, and a few other festive patio accessories might just take this old set from drab to fab. Yes I just said drab to fab (she types as she buries her head in her hands).

What have you guys been spray painting lately? Any outdoor chillaxing going on? Anyone shocked that I didn’t paint everything white instead of ORB? Anyone turn this post into a drinking game (and sip every time I mention that three letter abbreviation)? Just went back and counted, but I only said it three times. Not enough: ORB, ORB, ORB. There, done.

More posts from Young House Love

Filed Under: Furniture & Building, Our Second House, Outside, Painting

How To Use Polymeric Sand To Block Weeds In Our Paver Patio
A Weird Milestone

Comments

  1. Roxanne says

    July 18, 2011 at 9:21 pm

    So, I know it’s not the dog, but I saw this online and immediately thought of you, Sherry.

    http://www.zgallerie.com/p-10432-owl-umbrella-stand-22.aspx

    ;-)

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      July 18, 2011 at 11:13 pm

      Ooh that’s cute!

      xo,
      s

  2. shari says

    July 20, 2011 at 9:15 pm

    I am getting ready to attempt the same type of project, although there are a couple rust spots on the table edges. should i sand these first or prep in any other way or just go for it with the Rustoleum?

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      July 20, 2011 at 9:56 pm

      It definitely wouldn’t hurt to sand (outside wearing a mask) just to smooth them out before spraying. Good luck!

      xo,
      s

  3. Lolly says

    July 20, 2011 at 11:26 pm

    Did you finish with a varnish or anything? Or can you just spray the paint and then use the chairs? I always wondered. I’m about to spray-paint a mirror (first-timer here) and didn’t know if I should be spray-varnishing afterwards. What do you think?

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      July 21, 2011 at 8:21 am

      Most high quality stuff (like the Rustoleum we used) is nice and durable by itself (it’s made for exterior conditions and that specific material, etc). As for your mirror- I’ve sprayed many without varnish and years later they look great. I’d just do a few thin and even coats of paint (and possibly some spray primer first if you’re going over a glossy surface and worry about adhesion). Good luck!

      xo,
      s

  4. Emily says

    August 18, 2011 at 11:11 pm

    I’ve been mentioning this project to my husband to update our dated set of patio furniture. It’s actually quite nice, but the original forest green color has faded unevenly. He’s convinced that he needs to POWER-wash them before I can paint them and frankly, I might as well wait until next year with all the projects on his list!

    Please say that I can get away with just brushing off the cobwebs before ORB-ing it and surprise my hubby by taking something off of his massive list!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      August 18, 2011 at 11:21 pm

      Oh yeah, I would use a nice firm brush to get all the cobwebs off and then wipe them down with a damp cloth and then let it all dry and then spray them (ideally with paint + primer stuff like the exact Rustoleum stuff we love). Good luck!

      xo,
      s

  5. Shannon says

    August 26, 2012 at 9:06 pm

    I was thinking of painting an old rusty patio set a friend gave me for free. The back and seat are a mesh kind of fabric. Not sure if it is plastic or not. Do you think I can spray paint that?

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      August 26, 2012 at 9:07 pm

      Oh yeah I bet Rustoleum Universal spray paint will work (it’s cool for metal, plastic, etc).

      xo,
      s

  6. # honda Odyssey for Sale says

    April 23, 2013 at 2:44 am

    Hey this is kind of of off topic but I was wondering
    if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML.
    I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding experience so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      April 23, 2013 at 8:05 am

      We use WordPress and it offers both options so you can see the WYSIWYG version in one tab and the HTML in another!

      -John

  7. Becca says

    April 25, 2013 at 8:52 am

    I just stumbled across this blog thanks to pinterest! I am about to paint my patio set that looks just like yours but with WAY more rusty/chipping spots — am I correct to assume that you didn’t sand or power wash to remove the chipping first? And, if so, is it still holding up OK? If I could get this done quickly without sanding first, it would probably greatly increase my chances of actually taking care of it. :) Thank you!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      April 25, 2013 at 9:11 am

      Spray paint like Rustoleum with built in primer is actually made for going over rusting metal, so as long as it’s not flaking off or chipping (in that case I’d scrub it with a wire brush or something to get that off first) you can just spray paint it. I like their Universal All-Surface spray with the built-in primer most. Hope it helps!

      xo
      s

  8. Jen says

    May 20, 2014 at 8:17 pm

    Did it really only take 1/2 a can of ORB spray paint? I was buying some today, and the guy at the hardware store SWORE that it’s going to take a lot of paint to cover mine, since they have a lot of “blank” space (i.e., the space where your paint goes through to the ground). I bought 4 cans for 4 pieces of furniture, and hope I can return the extra (if there is extra!)

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 21, 2014 at 8:18 am

      Oh yeah for furniture you’ll go through a lot more, but really try to spray lightly and evenly and hopefully you can return a can or two!

      xo
      s

« Older Comments

Stuff We Love

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

John and Sherry Sitting On Woven ChairHey, we’re John & Sherry. We’ve fixed up 7 homes, written books, designed products, started a podcast, and then downsized & moved to the beach! Here you’ll find over 3,000 DIY projects & home updates. More about us…
*This site contains ads and affiliate links*
See our disclaimer & privacy policy to learn more

Latest Finds

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

SHOP OUR LIGHTING

Young House Love Shades Of Light Capiz Chandelier

GET POSTS BY EMAIL

We’re Digging

Traditional Rug
The “Magic” Rug
Smokeless Solo Stove Firepit
Smokeless Firepit
Outdoor Solar LED Path Lights
Solar Path Lights
Criss Cross Office Chair
Our Desk Chair
Blue Air 211 Air Purifier
Our Air Purifiers
Eufy 11S Max Robot Vacuum
Our Robot Vacuum
Kohler Memoirs Toilet
Our Favorite Toilet
Livable Luxe Book
Fav Design Book
SEE MORE OF OUR FAVORITE FINDS > >

  • About
  • FAQs
  • Press
  • Contact
  • :)

© 2025 Young House Love ® · Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · A Fun Wordpress theme on Genesis Framework · Hosted by Liquid Web