Review, Rustoleum Outdoor Fabric Paint
- By Joan
- July 13, 2022
- 14 Comments
Review, Rustoleum Outdoor Fabric Paint
We have a shade sail over our patio area in the back of our house. I don’t recall where we bought it from, it was so many years ago, but it has held up in structure but totally faded in color…at least on the top. You see that rust color, that was the original color on both sides of the tarp.
If you look closely you can just see the shade sail in this post on globe tealight holders from back in 2018.
This project was inspired by another post somewhere out there on the internet of someone who revived their faded and discolored patio umbrella with regular spray paint and they loved how it turned out. Sounds like a plan to me!
One of the commenters on that post was why don’t you use the fabric spray paint that’s available?
I hadn’t seen the fabric spray paint, but maybe that was because I just wasn’t looking.
Before a trip to the store, first I had to clean the shade sail tarp. The moldy mildew is where rain water sits between the slats of the arbor.
After some scrubbing I gave up and just tossed it in the washing machine. I was pleasantly surprised that the washing machine actually worked.
All clean and ready for his makeover. I ended up putting stakes in the corners to stretch out the tarp for spraying. (Truth be told, they were metal kebab skewers)
To the store where I find Rustoleum Outdoor Fabric Paint . The paint comes in a bunch of colors and that orange/rust color was close enough to my original canvas color.
Hey, I’m not picky, though that $15.48 price tag did give me pause. It must be really good stuff.
Two cans should do it, right?
Two cans of the Outdoor Fabric Paint was definitely not going to do it. This was after one can.
Two other notes about this outdoor fabric paint, it will still fade from the sun and it is not waterproof.
This is the area of the tarp which I really concentrated on to give a nice consistent coat. If I was doing tie dye this might be a look I would be going for.
At this point I was out $31 and I had a totally useless tarp on my hands. If I bought 4 more cans of this spray paint I don’t think I would be looking at any better results. 🙁
I did keep going since I had a second can but the second can just spit and dripped. I give up! I returned the second can and got half my investment back.
Instead of throwing the entire tie dyed tarp away, I purchased 2 cans of the regular spray paint at less than $5 a can. The 3 corners farthest away from you have been painted with one coat of the regular spray paint. Even allowing for the covering of the tie dyed “outdoor fabric paint”, the results are so much better, though the regular spray paint will leave a stiffer finish compared to the outdoor fabric paint.
I know it doesn’t say it’s for fabric but if I get a couple more years out of my tarp then it probably was a good investment.
If I had to redo this project I definitely would not purchase the outdoor fabric paint again. One can may be sufficient to cover one pillow but at $15.50 a can you might as well purchase a new pillow or recover your existing pillow with new fabric.
I did find the outdoor fabric paint was cheaper on Amazon and got mixed reviews.
This was just my experience if you have had any better luck with spraying outdoor fabric please let me know in the comments.
Until next time, stay inspired.
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if a spray paint can is used at a downward angle, it will sputter. it may be halpful to have your fabric in a verticle position!
Totally true, but this can was defective. It sputtered in all directions and the previous can worked just fine. This time I’m blaming it on the can, I was totally unimpressed. And on another note, when I was back at the store after publishing this review, the price had gone up to near $20!
I was thinking of painting my patio umbrella but after your experience I changed my mind. I will try RIT Dye then spray it with waterproof fabric spray.
So glad I could help. I did notice the last time I was at Home Depot they had the fabric spray paint on clearance. I was probably not the only one with a bad experience. Hope the dye works out.
Nancy is correct, but as you know, sometimes it is not possible to have every thing you spray in a perfect position. Thank you for sharing a “failed effort” as that is what happens many times when you are trying something new. A good lesson for all of us who follow you.
That’s so disappointing – but the end result with the regular paint looks pretty good. I appreciate seeing a ‘fail’ also, so I can save that $15+
If the tarp was water proof or even just water repellent that might have effected the outcome of your project even though you washed it in the washer. Just a thought.
Did you consider Fusion Mineral paint. I believe you can put in a sprayer . I know you can brush on. I also appreciate your “fail”
I tried Fusion Mineral Paint for fabric outside and it is very stiff, I really don’t like the finish of it! I painted furniture that was micro suede inside and it was a bit rough at the touch but nothing like my outside furniture which was more like cotton and it absorbed too much paint
Great details and effort! I also have a sail, but mine is not regular fabric , it actually feels like a plastic nylon texture. I don’t think the fabric paint would work well on mine. I am going to try the fabric paint on a fabric cushion and maybe the plastic paint on my sail. Hopefully I will receive better results…. #fingerscrossed
We actually are in the process of using this with an entire set of outdoor cushions. We’ve used quite a few cans but our blue cushions were just faded and spotty. We got a very similar color and it’s going great. The cans that sputter, just change the nozzle out with another can of whatever (clean it out first) and they seem to work fine. I think their nozzles are cheaply made. I don’t know if I can post a photo on here but we are happy with ours so far! Question though, do yall put a sealant on after?
We bought some of this outdoor fabric paint to redo our patio umbrella and swing canopy & pillows. Totally useless. All 3 cans only lasted for a few minutes and then the nozzle came off. The last can lasted a little longer. We contacted Rustoleum who mailed us replacement cans…..so far the first two of this batch did the same thing. Don’t waste your money!
Similar to the previous comment, I tried to paint a couple of faded deck chairs with this stuff. The first three cans all quit after about 30 seconds of spraying, and the nozzles all fell off. So I got smart and took the chair up to my local building center (rhymes with hose) and got a fourth can and attempted to complete my painting right in their parking lot. Same problem. As was the fifth, sixth, and seventh cans. Luckily I was close enough to being finished when the SEVENTH can stopped working that I gave up and went home. It would not have been that big of a a problem if it was a generic $3 can of spray paint, but I expect more from Rustoleum, and a heck of a lot more from a $15 can of paint. Extremely disappointed.
My experience using Rustoleum outdoor fabric paint was a total failure!😨 I purchased 4 cans to cover 3 cushions on my wicker sofa. The 1st 3 cans sprayed for approx. 30 seconds, then the sprayer cap popped off with a futile attempt to replace them. After trying switching caps, cleaning them,changing the angle of trying to spray, I GAVE UP! One & a half a can was all that sprayed properly,,,but with some paint spatters on the fabric which remains on the dried paint. My cushions are ruined!😡. I will be out a lot of money to either buy new custom made cushions r getting them reupholstered I have 5 more cans in different colours. . I am reluctant to use them I live 4 1/2 hours where I made these purchases. Trusted Quality since 1921. Be Dammed!. .