Spray It Pretty! Paint Fabric-a sofa!

This month’s Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest Spray It Pretty is being sponsored by Homeright!  Homeright is the first company to nail the fine finish sprayer in a portable and affordable manner.  This little baby is incredible.  Each participant received a Finish Max Fine Finish HVLP Sprayer

So far I have sprayed dressers, chests, bookshelves, picture frames, lamps, signs, chairs…it would probably save time if I listed items that I haven’t sprayed with my Finish Max!  This product saves sooooo much time on pieces with great detail like chairs, and wicker, and porch swings.  I decided to use my sprayer on something totally unconventional:

A sofa!  Why not??!!

Have you ever tried to paint fabric?  It takes a while and many many coats of paint!  So I figured why not save some time and energy and give the ol’ Finish Max a whirl!!!

I have painted several fabric items in the past.  Not every project was a success.  There is definitely a learning curve involved with painting fabric.  I have used plain latex paint…don’t try that!  And I have used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint…which worked well but the paint is a little more expensive.  So this time, I tried my own home made version of chalkish-like paint.  And I am pleased to say that it went rather well!

I used a recipe that I found online several years ago using unsanded grout, water, and latex paint.  I don’t have an exact recipe, rather I approximate and it usually turns out fine.  I use about 1 cup of water mixed with 2 heaping teaspoons of unsanded group.  I mixed this in a small beverage blender until smooth.  Then I added about 3 cups of latex paint in whatever color I desired.  I blended this very well in the blender.  Then I strained the mixture right into my Finish Max paint container.  The mixture was more watery than regular paint.  All of the reviews I have read about painting fabric stress that you must keep the fabric moist and the paint watery.

First step, before I filled my paint container, I used my Finish Max to spray the sofa with water to dampen the fabric.  I simply filled the Finish Max paint container with water and liberally sprayed the entire sofa.  I made sure the entire sofa was wet and then I dumped out the water and filled the paint container with my home made paint.

I started on the back of the sofa to test the process.  I figured I needed to practice to I should start on the back.  Once coat was barely noticeable.

I feared my home made paint would not be suitable so rather than continue with the entire sofa, I let that part dry and then did a second coat.

The second coat covered better and by the third coat I was more confident that the project would be a success so I completed the first coat on the remainder of the sofa.  I let that dry thoroughly and continued with a second and then a third coat.  By the end of the third coat, the sofa was covered nicely and I simply had to add more paint to several area to even out the coat.

 I was amazed at how well the paint covered the burgundy fabric!  The finish seems durable.  I did not sand between coats.  The final texture is not super soft fabric but rather a firm giving texture, if that makes sense.  A final coat of furniture wax made this baby ready for use!  This is a great technique for someone with a small budget who owns a sofa with great bones but a hideous fabric print!

Here are some close ups of the final product:

Thanks to this month’s hosts from The Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest, Evey of Evey’s Creations and Lynn of Fern Avenue.  Check out their posts for the Spray it Pretty contest HERE and Here.  If you are super creative and would like to participate in future FFFC projects, get more info HERE.

And thank you again to Homeright for providing me with this wonderful time-saving tool!  I hope to be carrying these beauties soon at my store, The Blue Building Antiques and Consignment!