Tucson Patio Furniture Repair Powder Coating and Refinishing Aluminum Patio Furniture
When the finish on an aluminum frame has gone chalky, faded, chipped or started to bubble, powder coating gives it a new, thick, baked finish. Typical pricing: about $75 to $95 per chair, $100 to $125 per chaise or loveseat, and $170 to $190 per table, plus stripping where the old finish has to come off ($25 to $100 a chair, $135 to $300 a table). Powder coat is shop work: frames are picked up, coated and returned.
What powder coat is
Powder coat is not paint in a can. Dry powder is applied electrostatically to bare metal, then the frame is baked so the powder flows and cures. Tropitone says today’s powder coat finishes are three times as thick as paint, and a San Diego repair shop describes the bake at about 400 degrees. That thickness is a big part of why a good powder coat holds up outdoors.
Why the old finish failed
- Chalking. Sunlight breaks down the resin that holds the pigment, and the pigment comes loose as a fine white powder. Dark browns, bronzes and blacks show it first. In a city with about 85 percent of possible sunshine, it is a very common finish complaint. See chalky faded finish.
- Bubbling and lifting. On aluminum, bubbles usually mean filiform corrosion: moisture got under the coat at a chip, a scratch or a drilled hole and crept along under it. See bubbling under the paint.
- Pool chemical damage. Tropitone warns that in indoor pool areas chlorides accumulate on the finish and lead to finish failure. Outdoor splash that dries on the frame day after day leaves the same residue. See pool chemical pitting.
Typical prices
| Piece | Powder coat | Stripping or blasting, if needed |
|---|---|---|
| Chair or armchair | $75-$95 | $25-$100 |
| Barstool | $100-$105 | $25-$100 |
| Chaise, glider, loveseat or bench | $100-$125 | $25-$100 |
| Table | $170-$190 | $135-$300 |
These match our pricing page and come from a national powder coating cost guide and a published blasting price list. Not every job needs a separate strip charge: a sound old coat that is only faded can sometimes be scuffed and coated over, while a coat that is lifting or bubbling has to come off completely. The quote says which.
How we refinish a frame
- Strip the soft parts. Slings or straps, glides, caps and hardware come off and are bagged by piece.
- Strip the old finish where it is failing, back to clean aluminum, and remove any corrosion under it. This is the step that decides whether the new coat lasts.
- Repair the frame. Any cracked weld gets fixed now, before coating. See frame and weld repair.
- Coat and bake.
- Reassemble with new glides and either your old fabric, if it is still good, or new slings or straps.
Color
Powder comes in a wide range of colors and textures. Matching an exact factory color on an old set is not always possible, so if you want one piece redone to match the rest, bring us a piece of the set and we will tell you honestly how close we can get. Refinishing a whole set together avoids the problem.
Refinish or replace?
The math usually favors refinishing when the frame is a heavy, well-made aluminum piece. A chair needing a strip, a coat and new slings lands somewhere around $185 to $315 at typical prices, and that is the number to compare against a new chair of the same quality. Our refinish or replace calculator does it for a whole set.
Where replacement wins: thin-wall frames, steel frames that are rusting through, or sets where several welds have failed.
Timing
Frame restoration is the slowest repair in this trade. A Phoenix shop publishes an eight-week minimum lead time for metal frame restoration in busy periods. We give you a date for your pieces when we quote. If you want the set back for the cool-season patio months, it pays to start early.
Keeping a new finish looking new
Tropitone and Brown Jordan both recommend mild soap and water and a coat of automotive wax on the frame (Tropitone names paste wax for gloss finishes; Brown Jordan says clear automotive wax two to three times a year). Rinse pool splash off. Touch up chips before water gets under them. Winston says not to use wax on textured finishes, so if your set is Winston, see the Winston page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to powder coat a patio chair?
Typically $75 to $95 for a chair, $100 to $125 for a chaise, glider, loveseat or bench, $100 to $105 for a barstool and $170 to $190 for a table. If the old finish has to be blasted off first, add about $25 to $100 a chair and $135 to $300 a table.
Do the slings or straps have to come off?
Yes. Fabric, straps, glides and caps all come off so the bare frame can be stripped, coated and baked. That makes refinishing the natural time to put on new slings or straps too.
Can I just spray paint it?
You can, and on an inexpensive set it may be the sensible choice. Spray paint is much thinner than a baked powder coat and will not last as long in Tucson sun. On a good frame we would rather see it coated properly once.
Will a new finish fix the white bubbles?
Only if the corrosion under them is removed first. Bubbles on aluminum usually mean moisture got under the old coat at a chip or a drilled hole. The frame has to be stripped back to clean metal, otherwise the new coat bubbles in the same places.