My Adopted Patio Furniture - How to Paint Adirondack Chairs

There's no better feeling than getting something for free that you actually like and frequently use.  When we lived in West Midtown, Jeff found this little treasure broken in several places and laying out on the curb ready to be scooped up by the next garbage truck... or by us.  Free patio furniture? Yes please.  Oh, we don't have a patio? Who cares... it will look just as nice on our back parking pad/driveway.

Can you tell where Jeff fixed it up with scraps of plywood?  Not pretty, but fully functional. A couple months later, my neighbor was throwing out an entire set of patio furniture.  You best believe I jumped all over that (at least what I could fit in my driveway). Our dilapidated Adirondack loveseat now had more hobo friends. 

Once we moved into our new house, I made painting these Adirondack chairs my first project.  I thought it would take me one weekend at the most... pick some paint and slap it on, done deal.  False. To do it right requires sanding, more sanding, primer (2 coats), paint (2 coats) and sealant (3 coats).  Here's a recap of my 2-month long journey (mostly due to procrastination).

Step 1: Sand
To remove the weathered top layer and smooth jagged edges I used our Ryobi Corner Cat Finish Sander where possible (lifesaver!) and for the harder to reach places I used a sanding block (mostly medium grit). This took me several hours, mostly due to the fact that the wood on the loveseat was in pretty bad shape.  In the 1st picture of the loveseat above you can see where sanding uncovered the natural reddish-brown color of the wood. The wood on the single chair was in good condition but I needed to sand off the top layer of finish for better paint adhesion. 

 

Before and After Sanding

                                                

 Step 2: Prime
Wipe down the wood with damp cloth to remove dust and dirt from sanding.  Using a 2-inch angled brush, I painted two coats of interior/exterior Kilz primer (any exterior primer will do, I had this one laying around).  The primer is important because it will protect the wood and help it last longer.  Be sure to wipe drips away with your brush as they happen. If they dry you'll have to sand them down and by this point you'll really be over any sanding action.  

After two coats of primer

Step 3: Paint
FINALLY, the fun part.  As you will quickly learn about me, I'm so magnetically drawn to anything teal or turquoise it's becoming a problem.  So naturally, I chose this paint color for the loveseat.  It's exterior paint in a satin finish.

Two coats of paint later... 

          

a bright turquoise loveseat and a very bored puppy.

I initially was going to go for a turquoise and coral color scheme, but the turquoise paint came out a little darker than I was expecting.  So instead I opted for a lighter, brighter color for the rest of the furniture and used Behr Premium Plus Exterior Satin Enamel in Bling Bling (I tend to choose my paint like I choose my wine, I'm a sucker for marketing).

Step 4: Seal
The chairs looked pretty but I wasn't done yet.  I needed to seal the chairs with polyurethane to make them more weather resistant and help the paint last longer.  I couldn't find exterior polyurethane in a liquid paint so I used Minwax Helmsman Indoor/Outdoor Spar Urethane Semi-Gloss in a spray paint.  While it was a nice break to use spray paint instead of painting, the spray paint was definitely more expensive.  It took 2.5 cans to put 3 coats over all my pieces.

Aaaandddd finally, the finished product.  Started in winter and finished just in time for spring. :-)

Readers, what's the longest time one project has ever taken you?