If you have outdoor wood furniture, from time to time you need to repaint it. That’s where issues are emerging. The most common of them are:
- What paint to use on outdoor furniture?
- What is the best paint for outdoor wood furniture?
- How to paint outdoor furniture?
- Do I need to use primer and finish?
- How many paint layers do I need to cover?
If you’re one puzzling over these questions, this post will help you handle them.
Best Paint For Outdoor Furniture
| Parameter | Krylon Exterior Wood Stain | Rust-Oleum | Ready Seal | Krylon ColorMaster | DekoArt Patio Paint |
| Net weight | 12 oz | 12 oz | 1 gallon | 12 oz | 6 units x 2 oz |
| Water repellent | + | + | + | + | + |
| UV protection | + | – | + | – | – |
| Time to dry out | 15 min | 20 min | 1 month | 10 min | 72 hours |
| Colors available | 3 colors of wood | 65 vivid colors | 9 colors of wood | 100 vivid colors | 63 vivid colors |
| Opacity | Semi-transparent | Opaque | Semi-transparent | Opaque | Opaque |
| Space of coverage | 25 sq ft | 50 sq ft | 150 sq ft | 25 sq ft | 6 x 6¼ |
1. Krylon Exterior Wood Stain – Best Wood Stain Overall
This spray-like stain works well when it comes to flawless and durable coverage. It looks more like a thin paint than a stain, so it isn’t the ideal option if you’re trying to keep the wood grain. However, some consumers notice that even after 2 layers of this stain, the wood’s grain is still visible.
Krylon Exterior Wood Stain suits outdoor wood furniture as it is both water- and UV-resistant. The estimated time of total dry-out is 15 minutes or even less. In addition, this stain doesn’t require either primer or finish.
The can’s size is 12 oz, which is enough for small-size projects. However, if you need to paint a few furniture items, be ready to buy several cans.
This stain is available only in three colors: cedar, redwood, and rustic brown. However, some consumers complain about the color of cedar: it doesn’t look the same as it is pictured.
Advantages:
- Water repellent and UV protected
- Superfast drying time
- No primer and finish required
- Spray format is convenient for even coverage
Disadvantages:
- Only three colors are available
- Hides the wood’s structure
2. Rust-Oleum – Best Spray Paint For Outdoor Wood Furniture
This paint was developed for both indoor and outdoor furniture made of wood, plastic, plaster, metal, wicker, unglazed ceramics, and other materials. It’s delivered in a variety of 65 colors, which allows making any project you’re dreaming of.
Rust-Oleum totally dries out in 20 min and makes full smooth coverage. The project’s square that can be covered with one can is 50 sq ft. It is twice more than any competitive brand guarantees.
The can is designed in such a way to enable any-angle spraying to reach even hard-to-paint zones. The paint requires at least 2 layers of coverage.
For better effect, use a primer before painting your project with Rust-Oleum. By itself, the paint doesn’t either shine or make your project glossy. For this effect, you can use finish above the paint.
Advantages:
- Water repellent
- Superfast drying time
- Covers 2x more square than competitive brands of the same size
- Spray format is convenient for homogeneous coverage
- Variety of colors
Disadvantages:
- Not UV-protected
- Requires primer and finish for better effect
3. Ready Seal – Best Paint For Outdoor Wood Furniture Overall
This stain doesn’t leave laps, streaks, or runs. It doesn’t require back brushing and can be used at any temperature. Ready Seal works in such a way to leave a grain of the wood visible.
As Ready Seal combines properties of both stain and seal, no primer is required.
To maintain the paint good-looking, recoat painted surfaces every 2 years if they are horizontal and every 3-4 years if they are vertical.
One can is enough for big projects covering, such as 150 sq ft.
When it comes to mixing Ready Seal with other brands of paint, its producer doesn’t recommend doing so because of the unique mixture used for Ready Seal. On the other hand, if you’d like to mix different colors of Ready Seal, it’s totally possible.
Talking about the air cure time, the paint’s producer recommends waiting 1 month for total drying. However, consumers notice that 48-72 hours is usually enough.
There are 9 colors available. Since there are no samples, sometimes colors are not totally the same as they are in the picture, so be cautious about this.
Advantages:
- Water-, UV-, and mildew-resistant
- No primer is required
- A big square of coverage
Disadvantages:
- Drying time is pretty long
- Colors can differ from those shown in the picture.
4. Krylon ColorMaster – Paint With The Amplest Colors Palette
Just imagine that Krylon ColorMaster offers 100 different vivid colors. So, with this paint, you can realize your imagination.
Krylon ColorMaster doesn’t require either primer or finish. It doesn’t change through time. The result is fast drying requiring less than 10 minutes of air cure. There are no runs and drips if you use this paint.
It fits such materials as wood, metal, plastic, glass, paper, and wicker. In addition, it can be used for both indoor and outdoor projects.
Advantages:
- Variety of color hues
- Superfast drying
- Water-resistant
- Neither primer nor finish is required
Disadvantages:
- Drying time is pretty long
- Colors can differ from those shown in the picture.
5. DekoArt Patio Paint – Best Paint For Small Outdoor Projects
This is a weather-resistant acrylic paint packed in a sample set of 6 colors by 2 ounces each pot. However, its producer notices that there are 63 colors available. As this paint is water-based, it can be watered down by adding some water.
As each pot contains only 2 ounces of paint, it is enough for small projects with coverage no more than 6¼ square feet. In general, one-two coats are required.
The producer recommends waiting 72 hours for total drying, however, consumers consider that the paint is already dried out in a few hours.
Advantages:
- 6 colors in a set
- Weather-resistant
Disadvantages:
- One pot is small enough for middle and big size projects
Buyer’s Guide
What Type Of Paint Or Stain To Use?
Let’s look at the difference between paint and stain and what exact types of these materials fit better for outdoor wood.
Paint is sitting on top of your wood and hides its grain, whereas stain soaks in it. Also, stain looks better than paint over the years because it’s more likely to fade than peel. So, if you’d like to keep the wood’s grain, we recommend you use a stain rather than a paint.
What Kind Of Paint To Use On Outdoor Wood Furniture?
There are three major types of paint: acrylic, latex, and oil-based.
| Parameter | Acrylic Paint | Latex Paint | Oil-based Paint |
| Base | Chemical-based | Water-based | Oil-based |
| Durability rating (1 is the most durable) | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Drying time (1 dries the fastest) | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Cost-efficient | 2 | 1 | 3 |
In general, if you’re working on small projects, you can use acrylic paints. For projects of frequent use, we recommend an oil-based paint that is the most durable option. For other types of projects, latex paint is the best one.
How To Paint Outdoor Furniture?
There are the following stages of spraying wood furniture:
- Remove rust and pelt paint.
- Before spraying and during the process often shake the can.
- Maintain steady, even motion.
- Refer to can for dry & re-coat times.
- Wipe off excess paint.
The approach to brush painting is generally the same as spraying. However, if you’d like to paint without brush strokes, we recommend you to watch the video below:
How To Waterproof Painted Wood Furniture For Outdoors?
Most paint designed for painting outdoor woods is already water-resistant. However, if you’d like to improve the paint’s characteristics, you can do the following:
- Use sand before painting to protect the untreated wood.
- Use primer for better paint coverage.
- Cover your painted wood with a finish.
Can You Use Chalk Paint For Outdoor Furniture?
Chalk Paint™ is a decorative paint designed especially for both indoor and outdoor furniture. So, it fits outdoor furniture perfectly.
However, this paint wasn’t included in our list because of negative customer reviews. Customers complain that this paint covers the surface unevenly, colors don’t look as they must be, and more than 2 coats are required for the desired effect.