Touching up powder coated aluminum outdoor furniture (Tropitone)

A. Sorry that no one who has that brand of furniture has done this, seen your letters, and chosen to reply yet. In general, though, it is okay to spray paint a powder coated finish. I would add the usual warning to try it in an inconspicuous area first, and then suggest that conventional outdoor enamel for metal, like Rustoleum or Krylon, will probably be fine, after scrub brushing with detergent and light sanding. But if you want to be super safe, try to order the spray paint from Tropitone in a color you like to ensure compatibility; their website has repainting instructions. Good luck.

A. Hi Kris. It certainly can't be painted properly with the strapping still in place. I'm not familiar with your furniture and am not really clear on why you can't remove the vinyl strapping. Sorry.

Regards,

A. Hi Emma. Yes, customer service is a serious issue with many companies today, I share your frustration. But it is valid for companies to only work through dealers (as Tropitone apparently told you). GM and Toyota won't sell you paint directly, and I don't think other patio furniture manufacturers will either.

It can be problematic to repaint properly ... the fact that there are a quarter million Q&A's on this site is testament to it. So if the company doesn't want to sell repainting supplies with their name on them directly to consumers, and then have consumers display blistering and peeling pieces, and tell friends & neighbors this is representative of that company's furniture, nagging them with how to get the overspray off their automobiles, or about what to do if the dog licked the wet paint, etc., it's understandable. Tropitone offers paint through their distributors and they tell you how to repaint at
www.tropitone.com/sites/default/files/page_files/touch_up_paint_aluminum_surfaces_031110.pdf

I'd suggest that you o through their distributor as they request, or buy paint from one of the many companies whose business model is to sell paint to consumers. A patio furniture supplier or car manufacturer not changing their business model and selling paint directly, doesn't necessarily condemn the furniture or auto to the landfill. Best of luck!

Regards,

A. I am wondering whether a car paint organization (Like Maaco) would be an answer to this issue. Thoughts?

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May 2016

Hi. I don't know about chain organizations, but I know that many small local auto painters will paint or powder coat patio furniture.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

A. I have Tropitone furniture & we spray painted our furniture using rustoleum multicolored textured spray paint. We wiped a liquid sanding mixture on them first. They look good so far, how they will hold up over the winter I don't know. If this might help you!

A. Hi Linda. Pictures can be deceptive, but it looks to me like once the varnish is gone, the wood graining is gone? Perhaps the aluminum was anodized in a tan color, and this was followed up with a streaky dark varnish stain to give the wood grain look?

If so, it's not going to look good when you sand it and polyurethane it. It might be a good time to substitute paint for the clear coat. Steps (a) through (c) sound fine though.

Regards,

A. Hi--After storing my Telescope Casual aluminum powder-coated outdoor furniture, I see that there are many chips in the finish! After reading the comments and noting that TC will not sell touch-up paint, I intend to look for a close spray of the pebbly finish!