The White Panton Chair

My entire life (ok, for the past few months) I've been jealously eyeing photos of the sleek and stylish white Panton "S" chair. Its graceful form has been a feature in the most stylish interiors ever since it was first formed by a single piece of plastic by Verner Panton in 1960. Plastic is usually not my deal, but this cantileavered beauty is like a piece of sculpture. And it stacks! I just had to have one. Only, you know, it's pricey an all. So I've been biding my time.

I finally found two knockoff Panton chairs on Craigslist, and for cheap, but... they were red. Now listen, I have nothing against the color red. But the white chair, it's just better. It's so clean and light and fresh. So here is what it takes to turn your reality into your dream. Also known as, how to spray paint plastic.

Steps:

1. Sand

People will tell you step one is to clean off the chair, which is all fine and good except that after you sand it there's a layer of fine dust to clean off anyway. Save yourself the double cleaning and sand first. Just a once-over with a very light grit sandpaper will do.

 















2. Clean

Swipe down the chair to remove the sanding dust.

 


3. Prime
Find an area that can be ventilated. An outdoor space is preferable, but if you don't have a backyard or rooftop access (I don't) then at least use a room that can be closed with a window open for a while.

Use a spray paint primer for plastic/metal/ other surfaces (I used Zinser BIN Primer) and apply a light coat. It will help the spray paint bind evenly to the plastic. Let dry for 24 hours.

 












 
4. Spray paint
I started with the Krylon Indoor/Outdoor spray paint in Gloss White, which I have to say I didn't love for its coverage and splatter. When I ran out of the first can I went to get another and found Rustoleum Ultra Cover 2X (also in Gloss White). So much better! The spray was much more even and saturated and it didn't drip at all. In an ideal world, I'd like to find a spray paint with this level of performance but less toxicity. 

I ended up going through 3 cans of spray paint for a nice even cover. Be sure to ventilate thoroughly - until the smell dissipates and then some, if possible.

Here is the finished product: