Painting Upholstery Fabric With Chalk Paint

My aunt's neighbor was going to throw this chair away, but she snatched it up for me instead. Then my husband snatched it up for his man cave. He said it was the perfect height for his game table. Obviously he cares more about function than design! The chair was yucky and if it was going to stay then something had to be done. I’ve been intrigued by other posts about painting upholstered furniture, so I decided to give it a try.

The fabric has a tight weave to it and the tea cup pattern is slightly raised with other areas that have worn away. So I knew from the start that the tea cup pattern and imperfections wouldn't disappear altogether, but I figured they would fade into the background.

I used Old Ochre (Annie Sloan Chalk Paint) as the color for the upholstered area. The key to using chalk paint over fabric is to make sure the paint isn't too thick. So before applying paint I dampened the fabric thoroughly with a wet wash cloth. Next, I thinned out the paint with water.

I let the 1st coat of paint dry overnight. The next day I applied a second coat of paint.

The paint at this point is un-waxed, and if you are familiar with Chalk Paint it has a chalky feel to it, but the fabric is still supple and doesn't crack. I pressed down on the fabric and took a photo to try and demonstrate this for you.

Once all the paint was thoroughly dry I applied a coat of soft clear wax.

Are you ready to try painting upholstery? Stop on by my blog for the full tutorial.

Original article and pictures take http://www.hometalk.com/9661332/painting-upholstery-fabric-with-chalk-paint site