Painting Plastic Garden Furniture

8 min reading time

Is your plastic garden furniture past its prime and looking like wilted flowers? With varnishesn and outdoor paints that adhere well, you can conjure up a new look in no time. Painting plastic furniture is easy!

1. Ideas for painting plastic garden furniture from the MissPompadour painting community

2. Preparation: choose the right colour for your plastic garden furniture

3. Painting plastic garden furniture the right way: Instructions from MissPompadour

4. FAQ: Frequently asked questions about painting plastic garden furniture

5. These are the supplies you need to paint plastic garden furniture

In this "How to" we focus on plastic garden furniture. For tips on how to paint wooden or metal garden furniture, see the tutorials Painting metal garden furniture and Painting and varnishing wooden garden furniture.

White plastic garden chairs - they are practical - but often they look cheap. At the latest when scratches and weathering have left their mark, they look shabby. So do you throw them in the bulky waste bin and produce even more plastic waste?
No, your plastic furniture deserves a second life. Whether you want to paint your table, deck chair or plastic garden bench, in just a few hours everything will look like new - and maybe even really classy.

Ideas for Painting Plastic Garden Furniture from the MissPompadour Painting Community

White, dark green or anthracite are the classic colours of plastic furniture for the garden. Somehow they almost always fit, but they often look... yes, exactly: boring!
You can paint plastic furniture just as you can paint wooden furniture - if you want, in many different colours. As Pippi Longstocking said: "I make the world widdewidde as I like it.... !"

You can find great colour shades in our collections with which you can paint plastic garden furniture. How about bright Green with Turqoise from MissPompadour? But subtle grey tones like Greywith Concrete also make good colours for plastic garden furniture. Are you brave? Then combine these shades with MissPompadour Yellow with Saffron or Yellow with Lemon in the great adhesive Eggshell Varnish quality. Let the colour selection in the MissPompadour shop inspire you.

For more clever ideas on how to paint your plastic table or garden bench, visit the MissPompadour painting community.

Preparation: Choose the right colour for your plastic garden furniture

Many garden owners ask themselves: Can I paint my plastic garden furniture?
Clear answer: Yes! Painting plastic garden furniture is as easy as painting the furniture itself. To make the surface as hard-wearing as possible, use our environmentally friendly outdoor paints.

Which plastic garden furniture do you want to paint?

Whether table, bench or chair - you can paint all plastic furniture with our water-based paints for outdoor use.
The varnishes mentioned work on most common plastics. You can even give garden furniture made of rattan-like wickerwork a new look.
Professional tip: With the paints mentioned, you can also paint elements made of wood or metal in your garden furniture to match the plastic furniture.

What effect do you want to achieve?

Matt colour shades are less suitable for painting plastic garden furniture.

Matt effect: Matt paints are inherently rougher and therefore less robust and weather-resistant. They also adhere less well than silk matt, glossy colours or special outdoor varnishes. If you still want to work with matt effects, then preferably only on furniture that is less exposed to wear and tear and is protected from the weather.
Silk matt/glossy effect: Silk matt colours and outdoor varnishes are the most hard-wearing and have the highest protective effect. MissPompadour Eggshell Varnish varnishes are ideal. You will find them in over 90 colour shades. You will enjoy them for a long time!

Painting plastic garden furniture the right way: Instructions from MissPompadour

We explain how to freshen up your plastic furniture for the garden season in our step-by-step guide.

Step 1: Cleaning

Clean your plastic furniture thoroughly before varnishing and remove greasy residues completely. MissPompadour To Clean does the job perfectly. Afterwards, you only need to wipe with water and let the surface dry well.

Step 2: Sanding - yes or no

Before you paint a plastic garden bench or table, you do not have to sand the garden furniture. You should only do this if old paint is flaking off. Very smooth plastic can be lightly roughened with fine sandpaper or a Sanding Pad. This makes the varnish adhere even better.

Step 3: Primer

For optimal adhesion, apply a good covering coat of MissPompadour To Bond & Blocken primer with a very clean brush. Allow the primer to dry for at least 3 hours.

Step 4: Varnish

Now apply the varnish layers with another brush - as many as you like until you are happy with the result. Two coats are usually enough. After about two hours drying time, you can start the next coat with a varnish roller or brush. If you want to paint large areas such as a plastic garden table or hard-to-reach places, you can use a paint spray gun.
Important: You must add 10 % water to the paint.

Professional tip: To Paint, find a place that is as shady as possible and protected from dust and wind.

Step 5: Curing

Have you finished painting your plastic garden chairs? Then wait a little longer before sitting on them. It takes 14 days for the varnish to cure and reach its full robustness. Keep your furniture dry during the drying time.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions about Painting Plastic Garden Furniture

You want to freshen up your weathered plastic garden furniture and still have questions? We have compiled the most frequently asked questions for you here.

Can I paint plastic garden furniture without sanding it?

Yes, you can do that. Only very smooth plastic surfaces should be roughened with fine sandpaper or a sanding pad.

Can I also use matt varnishes to paint plastic garden furniture?

Matt varnishes are less resistant and adhere less well. Silk matt varnishes are therefore ideal.

Can I also paint plastic garden furniture?

Yes, that is quite simple. Often you can even save on sanding. To Paint you proceed in a similar way as when painting metal garden furniture. You can find out exactly how it works in the instructions for painting plastic garden furniture.

Can I paint plastic flower pots?

You can also easily embellish plastic flower pots with paint to match your plastic garden furniture. Our outdoor varnishes are ideal for this.

Can I leave my painted plastic garden furniture outside?

Yes, you can. Pay attention to the weather, because the varnishes do not tolerate standing moisture. So place them tilted or under a canopy.

You need these accessories if you want to paint plastic garden furniture

Here you'll find some great tools to help you paint plastic garden chairs and the like.

varnish roller: You can achieve an even application of paint with our microfibre varnish rollers.
Sanding pad: You can roughen very smooth plastic surfaces before sanding. Use fine sandpaper or the MissPompadour Sanding Pad To Sand.
Paint spraying equipment: Our paint spraying systems from Wagner are the first choice if you want to apply the varnish perfectly evenly. You can even paint hard-to-reach areas with ease.
paint tray: P our the paint into a paint tray to make it easier to use. The flat paint tray is shaped so that you can easily hold it in your hand while working. The roughened surface removes excess paint from the paint roller. Special paint trays for brushes allow you to place the brush upright in the tray. With their ergonomic handle, you can easily hold these trays while varnishing.