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Can You Paint A Faded Patio Umbrella



Faded Potio Umbrella: Is There Hope

Spring has sprung and the sun is shinning, so DH pulled out the dark green patio umbrella and opened it up. Can we say Zebra stripes of white and green?!

Is there a fabric paint or dye that can be applied that will bring it back to life?? It’s a run of the mill canvas. I’m thinking “no”… but don’t really have any experience in this area. It doesn’t really bother ME… but…..

  • 13 years ago

    My potty-o doesn’t have an umbrella. I guess I’m missing out!

    That said, it’s canvas? That’s what all the famous paintings are done on, you know — canvas. I recommend you visit Michael’s and talk with them. They’ll show you their fabric paints. You can paint it and then you can stencil or hand paint whatever you like on it. You could have a lot of fun with it! Got kids? Let them help!

  • Like | 1
  • Can You Spray Paint Outdoor Fabric


    The outdoor fabric can be spray painted with appropriate aerosol paint, but there are some things to consider. Patio umbrellas, for example, look great painted, but you don’t sit on them. Fabric cushions, on the other hand, will feel “Scratchy” and will likely wear quicker. But it’s still an affordable way to extend their lives and worth it, in my opinion.

    Cheap Patio Umbrella Trick

    With the warmer months on the way, this umbrella trick for your pool or patio trick might be just what you need.We required shade at the pool, but space was tight. I didn’t haven’t room for a large table to house an umbrella and I didn’t want to pay for a pricey, small umbrella stand.Luckily, my husband is pretty handy guy and figured it out. He screened in our covered porch all by himself with kit items from the hardware store and it looks great ( you can peek at it by clicking here,…


    What Is A Blunt Person Like

    You get seriously impatient with family and friends who constantly say ‘yes’ to everything they’re asked to do for fear of disappointing people. It’s not right and you’re constantly telling them to stand up for themselves! It’s a known fact that, as a blunt person, you like to get to the point as quickly as possible.

    How Do I Keep My Patio Umbrella From Fading

    Patio Umbrella Makeover Featuring How to Paint an Umbrella ...

    You can weather-guard spray the umbrella, as this will increase the life of the fabric and reduce its fading. If you use a weather-guard, you should apply it to your umbrella every other week. In addition, you can vacuum the umbrella to remove dirt or debris. Then, you can wipe it down with soap and warm water.


    How Do You Dye A Faded Patio Umbrella

    How to Dye a Faded Patio Umbrella

  • Remove the umbrella cover from the support stand.
  • Place the umbrella face-up on a large painter’s tarp or canvas.
  • Clean the surface of the umbrella well to remove all dirt, webs, sap or anything which may affect the color application.
  • Spray the umbrella with a fabric dye paint.
  • Most outdoor cushions are made with synthetic fabrics . As a general guideline, one bottle of Rit DyeMore will dye one pound of fabric. The cushions in this project weighed 4 pounds so four bottles were used. Fill the pot with 9 gallons of water.

    One may also ask, how do I keep my patio umbrella from fading? Perhaps the most effective solution is to keep your outdoor furniture from fading is to apply a UV protectant product. These products live up to their namesake by protecting fabrics and surfaces from UV light, which is the catalyst of fading. Like sunscreen, it’s designed to reflect the sun’s UVA and UVB light.


    Besides, how do you replace a patio umbrella canopy?

    Replacement Umbrella Canopy: How To Guide

  • Step 1: Determine the diameter of your umbrella canvas.
  • Step 2: Count the Number of Ribs.
  • Step 3: Note your Existing Canopy Ventilation.
  • Step 4: Remove the Existing Canopy.
  • Step 5: Measure the Top Opening Size at the Center of the Canopy.
  • Step 6: Ensure That Your Existing Umbrella Frame is in Good Shape.
  • Can I spray paint my patio umbrella?

  • Step 1 How To Dye Faded Canvas Shoes.
  • Dip entire scrubbing device into solution.
  • Dip the utensil into the dye.
  • Can You Spray Paint An Umbrella

    As you can see from my before photo, we have a suspended-style umbrella. I checked Amazon for suitable replacement fabrics, and I found great replacements for patio/cafe-style umbrellas, from


    They come in diameters of 7.5 feet to 10+ and accommodate various rib counts. I would see if there is a suitable replacement here first. Repainting will cost around the same. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a suitable replacement, and I really wanted to try this spraypaint hack.

    Can you spray paint outdoor fabrics? You sure can. Imagine all future spray-paint project possibilities.

    Off to the hardware store I went, returning shortly after with 3 cans of in a satin finish.

    The next challenge was taking the umbrella fabric off the frame. This was surprisingly easy by opening up a hook and loop flap and pulling it like taking off a sock.

    Ideally, you want a warm day with little to no wind for painting with aerosol cans to get the best yield and coverage.


    Now, in the video, they repainted everything, but my frame was still looking pretty good, and some Armor All will fix the base; I really just wanted to punch some colour back into the umbrella itself.

    As far as preparation goes, I literally did nothing. Well, I wiped off some bird crap, but that’s it. Spread it out on the lawn and got ready to paint.

    Can 1 of covered about 1/3 of the umbrella. There was a light breeze which did affect the coverage a bit.

    Best Paint To Use To Paint Outdoor Metal Patio Furniture And Accessories


    I used It is the best spray paint in all regards that has exactly what it states on the label, a hammered finish. I prefer the traditional style can over the newer spray top. You don’t need to use primer for either. Once less step. 🙂

  • Once the cleaned surface is completely dry, shake can well and spray a light coat over surface in all directions.  Shake can a few times while you spray. Wait 5 minutes and spray on a second light coat of spray paint.  WAIT another 5 minutes and touch up any areas that you missed.
  • Paint The Canopy Support

    The canopy support was a bit weathered so I gave it a couple fresh coats of Krylon CoverMaxx Brushed Metallic paint. If you decide to paint this, make sure to let it cure for plenty of time prior to attempting to raise or lower the arms. Otherwise the paint can will scratch off on the pole area if not properly cured. I would recommend letting it dry for at least 48 hours. 

    How To Paint A Faded Outdoor Umbrella

    Save money – and throw away less – with this easy technique to paint a faded outdoor umbrella instead of tossing it in the landfill. Get tips on how to clean the umbrella and what paint technique worked best, plus find out how it looked years later!

    Some links in this article are affiliate links and if you click on them I will receive a small commission at no cost to you.

    Do you have a perfectly good umbrella on your patio that has faded from the sun?

    If everything else is working – the opening mechanism, there are no holes, etc. – then it’s worth it to take an hour or so to revive it with…paint.

    Really – and with just a basic spray paint. Our canvas cover looked 100 times better after using spray paint on it, so I’m confident yours will, too.

    Wait, can I paint my outdoor umbrella?

    Yes! I tested two types of painting methods and only one – spraying – worked well.

    Is It Ok To Be Blunt

    Yes, although sometimes it can be a bad things. I am a very blunt person and while my words do sometimes give people a wake up call, it can also hurt their feelings and self esteem. So yeah, bluntness is okay but just be careful of what you say, it might be blunt to you but cruel and insensitive to someone else.

    Can Fabric Be Spray Painted

    Can I spray paint on fabric or clothing? Yes, Krylon® can be used on fabric or clothing. In fact, Krylon spray paint is a unique opportunity for you to become your own personal fashion and interior designer by providing you with a fun, easy and affordable way to update your wardrobe and home fabrics.

    What Is The Difference Between Rude And Blunt

    Patio Umbrella Makeover Featuring How to Paint an Umbrella ...

    It’s not only misleading, but means they’re being held unaccountable for their actions. Being blunt is usually a mixture of confidence and consideration. It’s being unafraid to say something while still being courteous of how the other person will feel. Being rude but hiding it behind the word blunt is weak.

    Painting Outdoor Furniture Cushions

    Maybe you’re thinking of giving those outdoor cushions a make-over as well. I’d recommend reading Carrie’s from Lovelyetc’s, post on painting outdoor fabrics. Carrie does a great job covering the how-to’s as well as the pros and cons of painting outdoor fabrics.

    Hope you loved this DIY, and spray painting! Its bad-ass!!

    Check out more DIY’s .

    Can I Paint Outdoor Umbrella

    • on Aug 22, 2017I plan on painting mine soon, Krylon makes spray paint you can use. Depending on the size of the umbrella, you may need several cans. Some people disassemble it, some leave it assembled and just spin it around. I have heard some people have even brushed and rolled paint on them using outdoor porch paint. Good luck!
  • on Aug 22, 2017Yes, but it will fade soon, as well. So I would paint it as light of a color as you can.
  • V Smith on Aug 23, 2017If your umbrella is really canvas and it hasn’t been treated to shed water, you can paint it. I think it would be expensive to use cans of spray paint, so I would use a brush and roller. Because the fabric may get “tight” after painting it with waterbased paint I would suggest that you do not disassemble it, better to leave it stretched out. One plus for painting canvas is that it will shed water better. I would use a good quality outdoor paint and prime it with an primer that is rated for outdoor use. Good luck, please post your project.
  • Tips For Spray Painting Your Umbrella

    The first thing that you need to know is that you need quite a bit of spray paint for this job. It takes around five cans of spray paint for a nine-foot umbrella.

    You can get a spray paint gun to attach to your cans of spray paint. This makes the job a lot easier on your fingers, and you will be glad that you have it.

    You should also wear a painting mask. Spray paint is an aerosol and has fumes that are bad for your health. The mask will protect you.

    Next You Should Paint The Umbrella

    Although you can find advice on how to use a roller and paint the umbrella, it is difficult to paint it evenly this way. It is ideal to use spray paint.

    Now that your umbrella is clean, you can lay it out to spray paint it. Spray paint works well because it is easier to distribute it evenly across the entire umbrella.

    Start at the top of the umbrella and spray the vent and the edges of the vent and the undersides with flat paint. You should spray one section at a time, and make sure that you cover all of the seams and edges.

    Once your umbrella dries, you should spray it with a second coat of paint. It is hard to get it to cover evenly, so additional coats help you make this happen.

    Once it is completely dry, you can put the umbrella back on the frame. Then, you should stand up on a ladder to spray paint a third coat of paint.

    It is easy to stand on the ladder and turn the umbrella as you spray paint it. However, it is important to do the first two coats on the ground so that you can get the underside and the tops.

    Step 2: Paint The Umbrella

    Spray Paint: Since I wanted to make this as easy as possible , I used flat black spray paint – and the cheapest indoor-outdoor paint I could find, at that, since I didn’t expect this to last more than a season and this was just an experiment.

    Spoiler: since this was a huge success – see update below – I’d spend $4 now instead of .99 and get this flat black spray paint, lol. Who knows how long it would last then?

    Regular paint with brush or roller: I did not research this DIY advance, so I didn’t know there was an article on eHow about painting a faded umbrella. But I can tell you this:

    I do NOT suggest using regular paint and a brush or sponge roller like the article.

    I tried it when I ran out of spray paint and found it takes a LONG time, plus the paint soaks into the whole fabric, creating a stiff, ugly pattern on the underside.

    I also found it impossible to apply evenly with a sponge – maybe a small roller would work better for even distribution, but there’d still be the problem of soaking into the fabric.

    Based on these experiences in the spray vs. brush/roll debate, I would firmly land on the spray side.

    Step 1: Clean The Umbrella

    First I had to answer the question:

    Can you wash an umbrella?

    I found you have two choices for cleaning:

  • Use a machine. Since mine was a cotton canvas, I simply threw it in the washing machine on a regular cycle with soap and a vinegar rinse. After laying it out to dry, it came out looking great, even the mildew was gone!
  • Wash by hand. If you’re not sure about your cover material, you can lay it out and wet it with a hose. Then scrub with a brush and soap before rinsing with a hose and letting it dry. If dealing with mildew, add vinegar instead of soap or do a vinegar rinse.
  • So, yes, you can wash an umbrella. The photo of our umbrella cover before is actually after cleaning, so you can’t see the green moldy stripes that were on the top – or the bird droppings. Yuck.

    How To Paint An Outdoor Patio Umbrella

  • Wash the umbrella down with soap and water. If you have a power sprayer, you might use that on the lowest setting. If not, you can get use this tutorial for cleaning without a power sprayer.
  • Using a paint sprayer, spray the umbrella with a light coat. Alternately, you could just use spray paint.
  • Keep painting, following the directions of whatever method you are using until you have full coverage.
  • Allow for dry time before exposing the painted umbrella to outside elements.
  • Painted Cushions: The Bad

    Refurbishing A Faded Patio Umbrella

    I was a bit skeptical of this whole process, but I’ve painted fabric before with good results so I decided to go for it.

    My main concern was that the fabric would feel stiff and sort of crunchy. And it totally does. 

    To be fair, the outdoor fabric on these cushions was fairly stiff to begin with, similar to canvas. Adding the paint made it slightly more stiff. Sanding at the end keeps the fabric from being scratchy and catching on your fingers, but it doesn’t actually make it soft.

    I can deal with the stiffness for outdoor furniture but it would be a huge no go for indoor use.

    Another problem is that even though the cushions look so much better, the paint didn’t completely cover the old floral pattern. 

    I knew I was taking a risk by choosing such a light color, but I was hoping that with enough coats of paint it would be fine. After five coats of paint, I decided enough was enough. I really don’t mind the faint floral pattern, but I was originally hoping to cover it entirely.

    There was also one other issue that I didn’t foresee. When you sit down on a cushion, normally some of the air releases through the fabric and the cushion flattens a bit. Painting my cushions with latex paint created an air-tight barrier around them so that when you sat down, no air could escape. 

    Start By Cleaning The Umbrella

    First, you need to clean the umbrella. You don’t want to paint over dirt and debris, or your paint won’t stick and it could come off.

    You have two choices: you can use a machine to clean the umbrella or you can wash it by hand.

    If you use your washing machine, you can throw it in on a regular cycle with soap and rinse it with vinegar. You can hang it to dry once it is finished washing.

    Washing it by hand works well, and you can get it wet with a hose. Then, take a bucket of soap and a scrub brush and scrub it with the soap.

    If the umbrella has mildew on it, you can replace the soap with vinegar when you wash it. You can scrub it with the vinegar, and it will come clean.

    Can You Use Chalk Paint On Outdoor Cushions

    You can usechalk paintpaintoutdoorchalk paintpaintingchalk paintyou can paint SunbrellaPaintwillHow to Paint Fabric with Dyes:

  • Gear up. Put on protective or older clothing and rubber gloves.
  • Mix the dyes. Mix your fabric dyes into squeeze bottles by combining an appropriate ratio of fabric dye and water .
  • Prepare the fabric.
  • Refresh A Faded Outdoor Umbrella

    I’ve got this old friend who’s down on his luck.

    I guess I’m using the term “friend” loosely here. That’s my friend in the picture above. My patio umbrella. And, I have to say,  we’ve been through a lot together.

    I bought this guy for my first apartment, back in college. No longer a freshman confined to a dorm, I was a mature sophomore. Moving on and moving up!

    I moved up into a real person, adult-like apartment, with three of my friends from high school, and we NEEDED this guy.

    Admittedly, my definition of both “friend” and “need” are perhaps a bit skewed. College-aged dudes would probably use “need” to refer to things like ramen noodles and shot glasses. But I’m no dude.

    We, college women, need things like fun shoes , salad dressing, mascara, and large patio umbrellas.

    I figured out a sneaky way to use campus dining dollars at Pier One Imports So our fabric friend here came to college with us.

    Then it became this large outdoor umbrella and us… fun times were had by all.

    But alas, just like college, all good things must come to an end, right? Fast forward a few years and perhaps our patio umbrella’s best times were now behind him.

    I mean, see how faded he is?

    Painting A Patio Umbrella

    • on Feb 27, 2018Hi Barb, I’m wondering if it would be a situation where a fabric dye might actually work better then a paint?
    • on Feb 28, 2018If you have a spot in your yard that is just dirt so you can wash it away, a dye job might work fine. You could basically “pour it on” and then wash it away. I’m thinking it would work better then paint because paint will probably flake off or crack over time.

    After Spray Painting Metal Outdoor Patio Umbrella Stand

    Quite a nice transformation for about 15 minutes of effort.

    It was very hot and humid when I took these photos. Having a umbrella to shade the table is a must.  Now that the umbrella stands has been painted, they look much more cohesive with the decking.

    I like things to look coordinated, they don’t have to be matchy-match, but at least look like they are part of the whole.

    Now I have to paint the fish candle holders that we have sitting on the railing.  The previous owner of the house left two of them. We have become very fond of them since moving to the house. I think I will be painting them to restore the look of verdigris that they once had.

    Another great product to have on hand when you have metal outdoor furniture is WD-40 or a similar product like CRC that is a spray-on lubricant that removes rust, loosens rusty screws and more. These screws that hold the umbrella in each of my stands were covered in rust. A few shots of WD-40 and they were as good as new.

    Umbrella Painting With A Design

    If you want to create a similar pattern to our umbrella makeover, then you can follow these directions:

  • Find the middle of each section of your umbrella. Tape it off.
  • Measure or just eyeball the circle spacing on each side of your tape.
  • Use a circle form to paint your circles.
  • Create a stencil and hand-paint the design.
  • Once we started hand-painting, we realized that it was going to take forever to finish.

    Luke had the idea to make a paper stencil for the next part. He copied most of the stencils on each of the sections and then we painted them at the end.

    I painted all of the straight lines and he finished off all the petals.

    Of course, the straight lines were much easier to do.

    After we finished painting, I hot-glued the pom pom trim on and set it up. Instant gratification.

    For $20 , this project was super cheap and highly effective in creating a much more cohesive, beautiful space.

    *I did this project back in 2014 and it held up for three years outside! I think that investment of making over the faded patio umbrella was worth the time for sure!

    Since then, we have changed the look of our outdoor patio space. Tell me, do you miss this patio umbrella makeover on the new patio?

    What Is The Best Spray Paint To Use On Outdoor Metal Furniture

    I spray painted it and posted about it 5 years ago.  The photo above was taken on the deck at my previous house.

    Fast forward 5 years. Here is the set with two KUBU dining chairs added. I still have the end chairs, but when we entertain on the gazebo, I bring out two of the kitchen chairs to “up the style factor” of the space.

    The spray painted finish on the table and chairs has held up perfectly. No peeling or chipping. The surface looks amazing and I have Rustoleum to thank as well as my patience to make sure I applied the spray paint correctly.

    Last week, in keeping with my “use what I have” decorating philosophy, I used the same spray paint to restore two very large wrought iron patio umbrella stands that are on my deck.  In less than an hour, I had brand new looking umbrella stands.

    Mix In Some Fabric Paint Medium

    Painting The Patio Umbrella • PMQ for two

    If you really want to preserve that fabric-y quality of your umbrella, then this is the point you’d want to add theto your paint.

    This product will help the fabric stay more flexible. My umbrella was already made of fairly stiff canvas , and I had already way overspent on this project due to Plan A not working out.

    So I bagged this step.

    Does Color Of Patio Umbrella Matter

    Step 3. Color – The most common colors for patio umbrellas are earth tones like terra cotta, stone, cocoa and beige. Color choice is mostly a personal preference based on what best matches your outdoor décor but keep in mind that darker colors will show more fading over time while lighter colors will show more dirt.

    My #1 Spray Painting Tip:

    This spray painting tip is one of the most important tips I know to achieve a perfectly smooth spray painted finish. It is for anything you spray paint, not just metal outdoor furniture.

    To ensure your spray painted finish on any surface does not wrinkle, you must apply the coats of spray paint within an hour. If you can’t get a second or more coat on within an hour, wait 48 hours to apply the next coat. If you spray a second coat on too soon after the first hour, the paint may wrinkle and ruin your efforts.

     



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