Refreshing your Vinyl Strapping? Don't Paint, Don't Even Try It! Replace!

If you're thinking of sprucing up your patio furniture by giving it a change of color and hiding any unseemly stains or blemishes through wear and tear you have two options. Either undertaking the fiddly job of painting the vinyl straps on your exterior chairs or replacing the vinyl strapping altogether.

Here's a list of reasons replacing is better than painting:

You will need to remove the vinyl strapping either way.

Since you need to remove the straps to paint them, it makes sense to save yourself a lot of time, expense and patience by simply replacing them; a much quicker and more convenient task.

Painting vinyl strapping requires cleaning and priming

Before you can even consider painting vinyl, you have the task of cleaning the vinyl carefully to ensure even coverage and reduce the risk of paint peeling. You need to prepare soapy water , then consider that a quality finish needs primer in addition to paint. Replacing the strapping entirely only requires boiling water, so you save yourself the soap and the primer.

Less mess, a neater job

During the painting process, there is also the risk of ruining adjacent materials with paint such as screws, trims etc. Tape can be used to help protect surrounding materials but again, by the time you calculate the costs of other materials, it makes more sense to just replace the vinyl straps.

You could spray the vinyl strapping but...

Spraying vinyl straps is another option that some people choose but this is hazardous unless you have a well ventilated area and even then, it should only be done with a ventilation mask, another expense to consider. Spray painting also includes the risk of dripping if there is too much sprayed, any excess paint needs wiping away with a towel or lint cloth.

Professional flexible finish, no cracking or hardening

Chances are, if a material as resilient as vinyl needs painting to cover wear and tear, its lost its ability to fulfil its purpose of connecting two pieces of material sufficiently and needs replacing. If the vinyl strapping is old and worn and not structurally sound in the first place the paint will crack and that will look awful. Also the vinyl needs to retain its supple flexibility to be comfortable to sit on. Paint will only harden your furniture. As the old saying goes If in doubt, throw it out!

Less waste, less storage space

Save yourself the bother of messy unfinished paint cans taking up space in your garage for years to come, a neatly coiled roll of vinyl strapping is no bother to anyone, or you could buy the exact amount pre-cut and save space entirely!

Overall, for less mess, fuss and no hidden extra expenses, you'll get a more professional finish by replacing the straps all together. Watch how in our double wrap vinyl strap repair video or browse replacement straps here.