Check this incredibly easy way for how to spray paint a cane chair, without painting the cane! It took me minutes to prep and the results are beautiful!
I love a quick update, what about you? Last week I was dropping off some things at the Salvation Army and I saw this pretty ratty looking chair, but it was a great size and had a cane back.
Growing up my Memaw always had caned chairs, so they bring back a lot of memories. I couldn’t get the chair out of my mind, so I went back a few days to check if it was still there (thinking there’s no way it’s still there)… AND it was!
This cutie came home with me for a whopping $1. She was the perfect size for my office and I’ve been on the hunt for a chair for this space.
I wanted to paint it black but keep the cane the original color, so I pulled out my trusty Frog Tape. If you don’t already use this tape, you need to start. It’s honestly the BEST for painting and getting crisp lines. You can see some of my project that I use it for, HERE.
How To Spray Paint A Cane Chair WITHOUT Painting the Cane
Here’s how you can paint the chair without getting any paint on the caning…
1. Start by removing the seat, if it’s not caned, and give the frame a light sanding. (The seat should come off with a few screws.)
2. Clean the entire chair well with soap and water.
3. Cover the entire area of cane with Frog Tape…front and back. It should overlap onto the frame, like the below picture.
4. Use your nail to press the tape in around the edge of the cane spine. (The spine is the reed that holds the cane in place.)
5. Next, use a sharp craft knife to carefully cut the tape from the outside of the spine. (I like this Fiskars craft knife.) You don’t want to apply too much pressure, just enough to cut through the tape.
It should like this ↓
6. Run your nail around the edge again to make sure the tape is pressed down around the entire spine.
7. Spray paint the frame your desired color and let completely dry. (This might take a couple of coats, so just leave the tape on until you’re finished.)
8. Once the paint is dry, carefully remove the tape.
Tips: There should be little to no bleeding, but if there is, just use your nail to scrape off the paint immediately. It will come off easily before the paint completely cures.
9. If you removed the seat, you can either reupholster or just add it back to the frame. (HERE are 9 different ways to Reupholster a seat.)
This entire project cost around $10 and took around an hour total to complete. I had the paint and supplies but I bought the chair and new fabric.
Love it! I just bought some old canes folding chairs and want to paint them black and retain the caning! Everyone on the internet was painting the caning and I was getting so sad thinking I was going to have to do that!
It’s really smart to use frog tape to protect the cane part. That way you can have the design stay true while the rest of the chair looks new and improved. I have some old cane furniture that I want to refurbish so I’ll definitely use these ideas.
This is going to be my next DIY! Thank you for sharing! Can you also share about what fabric was used on the chair?
I have this exact same chair! Already knew I wanted to paint the chair black and greatly appreciate you keeping the cane original as that encouraged me to do the same and an so happy with the end result. Thank you!
❤️ so glad!
Hi! It looks great! I’m curious how to spray paint is holding up over the years? Does it nick or scratch easily?
These chairs turned out gorgeous! I love cane back chairs. Can’t wait to get my hands on some to try this project out! Just pinned it for the future.
I have 6 American of Martinsville cane chairs with my dining set, I purchased over 40 years old…I am going to paint them black and put frogtape on the cane backing to leave it original.
Thank you!
Thank you so much for making this tutorial in such great detail! I purchased two Breuer knock-off counter stools at a barn sale and they are grimy but the cane is in good shape & they’ll clean up easily. I was looking for a way to paint the wooden frame and leave the cane natural. I have & love my Frog Tape, I’ll be following your steps! Thank you so much.
Masked off 4 cane backed chairs, BUT with a deep desire to come up with a speedier prep, instead of time consuming narrow frog tape, I had great success with GLAD PRESS AND SEAL and the craft knife to edge cut the excess! Prep time drastically cut down!