I was wondering, would this work? I want to spray paint my couch white, and spray some designs or writing on it in red, or maybe just let people write on it with permanent marker. Do you guys think it'd be ok to do? Or would it just be a big mess?

*Em.

spraying your couch could be a bit messy - what kind of paint were you planning on using and what kind of fabric is your couch?

maybe instead of spraying your couch you could cover it with linen or canvas - people could write on this and you could remove the cover and replace it with a new one if the first got filled up.

hope this helps!

either way let us know how it works out!

alison

i'm just imagining disaster, white paint all over whoever sits on the couch. i don't know if that would actually happen but i think the canvas idea is the safe way to go. then if one of your friends draws something really cool on it, it will be easier to save if you decide to get rid of the couch someday.

i have to agree with the canvas idea. not that i havent spraypainted plenty of clothes... spraypainted fabric tends to be pretty stiff and grainy-feeling, and the paint flakes off easily. it would also probably seep into the couch-stuffing and take forever to dry.

stella

I haven't tried it myself and I would have thought that it was yucky and crunchy too, but if you use latex paint, it seems to work okay. 2 of my friends have painted their couches. i'll see if i can remember to ask them for details.

i've painted large pieces of fabric before and it does work BUT it is stiff-ish and it cracks and flakes pretty quickly. 'Course, it could have been the paint i used.

Ideally, i think you'd have to use a fabric paint.

Something that when it dries, is nice and flexible... otherwise you'd end up with a crispy couch that might not be so comfortable to sit on...

why couldn't you sponge-dye your couch? Could you make up a bucketful of dye and get a big sponge to dip in it? (done with long gloves of course). Just sponge all over until it is as dark and/or textured as you like. Of course, i don't know if this would be a prob if you wear light colored pants, or if you, your kids, or your friends spill stuff a lot. You could even get other smaller shaped sponges and use different colors or something. It could work...but i haven't tried it.

the problem with dye is that it needs to be set with heat or chemicals. since you obviously can't boil your whole couch, you'd need to paint it with chemical fixatives. you would then have a chemical-y couch that would probably rub excess dye on you when you sat on it, since you cant rinse a whole couch either. on top of THAT, most couches are synthetic fibers that don't take dye well (if at all).

i'd go with fabric paint.

stella

Ok, you guys, thanks!

I think I'm gonna try to do the canvas thing first, and if I don't like how it looks buy a whole buncha fabric paint in bright colors and sponge-paint my couch. I love the sponge idea, thanks!

*Em.

BTW, to add to the paint choices..let me just suggest that you don't use oil based paint.
I can see that causing many problems.
Try the fabric or latex paint.

just a thought: try having a set of fabric paint squeeze bottles on hand so that guests can use that to write on the canvas with as an alternative to marker (which may smudge).

good luck!

hi everybody, I'm new--here goes.
I've painted upholstered stuff before (white actually!). It *does* work, I have chairs I painted six or seven years ago and they are still ok-looking.
tips:
-use high-gloss latex interior paint. It will not come off on people when they sit on it.
(it's sturdy, flexible, and you can wipe off spills or whatever)
-only paint on relatively firm, tightly woven fabric with NO pile. (anything fuzzy will be a big mess)
-two coats.
-paint the whole darn thing-fabric, wood trim, what ever.

I knew some one who did her couch white with little red polka dots using a stencil. It looked great.

sharpie write well on house paint. let it dry, it won't smear.

good luck.