Yes, you can paint a wooden chair. Repair any loose joints, remove the seat, clean and scuff-sand the wood, and prime it if it is glossy, knotty or tannin-rich. Then paint the underside first, followed by the upright sections, in two or three thin coats. Seal the seat, because it takes the most wear.
Fix wobbly joints first
Paint will not hold a loose chair together. Before you start, check every joint by rocking the chair. Where a joint moves, pull it apart, scrape out old glue, re-glue with wood glue and clamp it until it dries. How to fix a loose chair rung walks through it. Fix any loose or split spindles at the same time. Allow the glue to cure before you move on.
Remove the seat and clean
Remove seat cushions and drop-in seats. These are usually held by screws under the frame. Clean the whole chair with sugar soap or a degreaser. Chairs carry hand oil and food residue, and paint will not bond to either. Rinse, then let the chair dry completely.
Scuff-sand and prime
Scuff-sand the surfaces with 180 to 220 grit. On spindles and turnings, an abrasive sponge or sanding cord reaches into the curves. Then decide whether to prime:
- Prime with a shellac-based or bonding primer if the finish is glossy, the wood is knotty, or it is tannin-rich, such as oak, mahogany or cherry.
- Chalk-style paint on a sound, scuffed surface can often go on without a separate primer.
Wipe away all the dust before you paint.
Paint the underside first
Turn the chair upside down, or on its side, and paint the legs, stretchers and the underside of the seat frame first. A painter’s pyramid or a turntable keeps the feet off the surface and makes the work quicker. Let the underside dry fully, then turn the chair upright and paint the rest. This order stops drips from landing on finished surfaces, and it catches the spots people forget, like the undersides of stretchers.
Brush or spray the spindles
Use a small angled brush of 1.5 to 2 inches for spindles, with very little paint on it. Work one spindle at a time, from top to bottom, to catch drips before they set. A heavy coat on a spindle will run, so use thin passes.
Spray is much faster on spindles and Windsor-style chairs. If you’d rather keep the wood on an old Windsor, see how to restore a Windsor chair. Hold an aerosol about 10 to 16 inches (25 to 40 cm) from the surface, make light passes, and expect one or two cans for a typical chair, depending on its size and the colour.
Coats and sanding between them
Apply two or three thin coats, letting each dry fully. Sand lightly with 220 to 320 grit between coats to knock down any dust or raised grain, then wipe clean before the next coat. One thick coat looks quick but sags and drips, and it takes far longer to dry.
Protect the seat and arms
Seats and arms are high-wear areas. Use a durable enamel, or finish with two or three coats of water-based polyurethane. Chalk-style paint on its own wears through quickly on a seat, so it needs a sealed topcoat if the chair will be used every day.
Cure time
Give the chair about a week of light use before it takes regular weight. Most water-based paints take two to four weeks to cure fully, and the exact time varies by product. Until then, avoid stacking chairs or scraping them across the floor.
Safety
- Spray outdoors or in a well-ventilated space. Wear a respirator with organic-vapour cartridges.
- Older chairs may have lead paint. Test before you sand, and wear a dust mask.
- For background on choosing a finish, see which paint to use on wood furniture. For the spray-or-brush decision, see is it better to spray paint or brush paint wood furniture.