What to Do with a Faded Patio Umbrella

Share this post:

If you have a patio umbrella, you might find that it fades over time from exposure to the sun and the weather. The good news is that you don’t have to throw it away.

In fact, there are ways to bring life back into your patio umbrella. One of the best ways to refurbish your patio umbrella is to spray paint it.

Even when it fades, the patio umbrella usually still works well. There is no reason to replace the umbrella when you can refurbish it.

You can paint it, but you can also dye it. When you choose to redo your patio umbrella, you will save money and make your umbrella look as good as new.

How to Paint Your Faded Patio Umbrella

As long as everything else on the umbrella is working, you can renovate it by painting it with spray paint. It only takes about an hour, and it is very easy to do.

First, you need to remove the canvas from the metal so that you can paint it. Make sure that you remember where everything connects so that you don’t have any trouble putting it back together when you are finished.

Start by Cleaning the Umbrella

First, you need to clean the umbrella. You don’t want to paint over dirt and debris, or your paint won’t stick and it could come off.

You have two choices: you can use a machine to clean the umbrella or you can wash it by hand.

If you use your washing machine, you can throw it in on a regular cycle with soap and rinse it with vinegar. You can hang it to dry once it is finished washing.

Washing it by hand works well, and you can get it wet with a hose. Then, take a bucket of soap and a scrub brush and scrub it with the soap.

If the umbrella has mildew on it, you can replace the soap with vinegar when you wash it. You can scrub it with the vinegar, and it will come clean.

Next, You Should Paint the Umbrella

Although you can find advice on how to use a roller and paint the umbrella, it is difficult to paint it evenly this way. It is ideal to use spray paint.

Now that your umbrella is clean, you can lay it out to spray paint it. Spray paint works well because it is easier to distribute it evenly across the entire umbrella.

Start at the top of the umbrella and spray the vent and the edges of the vent and the undersides with flat paint. You should spray one section at a time, and make sure that you cover all of the seams and edges.

Once your umbrella dries, you should spray it with a second coat of paint. It is hard to get it to cover evenly, so additional coats help you make this happen.

Once it is completely dry, you can put the umbrella back on the frame. Then, you should stand up on a ladder to spray paint a third coat of paint.

It is easy to stand on the ladder and turn the umbrella as you spray paint it. However, it is important to do the first two coats on the ground so that you can get the underside and the tops.

You Can Use a Clear Coat Once It Is Painted

Once the umbrella is completely dry from the final coat of paint, you can get a water-repellent sealer to protect the umbrella. This is going to be a product that you have to roll on, but it will do a great job of protecting the umbrella.

Tips for Spray Painting Your Umbrella

The first thing that you need to know is that you need quite a bit of spray paint for this job. It takes around five cans of spray paint for a nine-foot umbrella.

You can get a spray paint gun to attach to your cans of spray paint. This makes the job a lot easier on your fingers, and you will be glad that you have it.

You should also wear a painting mask. Spray paint is an aerosol and has fumes that are bad for your health. The mask will protect you.

You Can Also Use the Faded Umbrella as a Template to Create a New Canopy

If you don’t want to spray paint your faded umbrella, you can remove it from the frame and use it as a template to make a new umbrella. Remove the old canopy and lay it out on the ground.

Cut one of the panels of the old canopy to use as a pattern. The panels are all the same size, so you only need to use one as a pattern for the rest.

Fold the panel in half lengthwise, and lay it on pattern paper with the folded edge on the edge of the pattern paper. You can then draw the outline and include an extra 3.8 inch for the seam.

You won’t need any seams on the folded edge, so be sure to label this edge as the fold. You need to make sure that the panel is perfectly flat when you draw the pattern.

Now you can take the new fabric and fold it in half. You should place the side with a fold alongside the pattern that is marked for the fold, and then cut the fabric out of the pattern with your scissors.

Once you cut out enough panels for the entire umbrella, you can sew the panels. Then, you should hem each panel so that it has a clean edge around the bottom and sew the pairs of panels together.

You can attach the double panels to each other and be sure to use a ⅜ inch seam allowance. Now the panels should be ready to place on the frame.

Raise the new canopy up and place it on the frame. You should have a hole at the top of the canopy where the end of the umbrella frame can pass through.

Turn the canopy inside out so that you can see and sew the fabric around the top hole of the frame. Then, you should be able to put the new canopy on the frame, and it will work perfectly as a replacement.

How to Prevent Your Patio Umbrella Fading

Although patio umbrellas are made with weather resistant fabric, they will fade over time. If your patio umbrella keeps its color, it looks newer and better.

There are several different ways that your patio umbrella fades, including the sun. The sun beats down on the umbrella and it deteriorates over time.

There are several different ways that you can prolong the life of your umbrella. You can weather-guard spray the umbrella, as this will increase the life of the fabric and reduce its fading.

If you use a weather-guard, you should apply it to your umbrella every other week. In addition, you can vacuum the umbrella to remove dirt or debris.

Then, you can wipe it down with soap and warm water. Then, you can rinse it well and make sure that all of the soap and grime are rinsed clean off of the umbrella.

Another way to prevent your umbrella from fading is to block the sun when you aren’t using it. You can place it in a shady area such as under a tree or on a deck, especially during the hottest hours of the day.

You can also cover your umbrella with ultraviolet protective furniture covers, which will help to prevent fading. In addition, during the cooler months, place your umbrella inside of a shed or the garage.

You can minimize the fading and damage from the elements if you are careful with the umbrella. You need to take good care of it by making sure that it isn’t left out in the sun when you aren’t using it.

Make sure that you take the time to keep your umbrella clean and free of debris, and you can spray it with the weather guard every other week. This will help you prolong the life of your patio umbrella so that you can enjoy it.

If you want to make your umbrella last and look fresh and attractive, take the time to put it away during the cooler months, and take care of it while it is out.

Final Thoughts

People often want to know what to do with a faded patio umbrella. They don’t want to throw it away because it seems wasteful.

You can’t dye them because the fabric is weather coated to prevent anything penetrating the fabric. However, you can spray paint the patio umbrella.

If you want to do the best job, you should remove the canopy from the umbrella frame. Then, you can clean it and remove any dirt and debris.

Make sure that it is thoroughly dry before you paint it so that the spray paint will stick. Once it is dry, you can lay it out flat so that you can paint it.

If you don’t want to spray paint the patio umbrella, you can use it as a template and make a new one out of fabric.

There are many different things that you can do with your old patio umbrella to breathe new life into it.

Share this post: