Tuesday, August 7, 2018

BEFORE and AFTER -- End Table

Here is another Before and After project. The most interesting part on this project is the fact that the 'Before' has a laminate top. I previously thought you could not spray over a laminate but in turns out that it works pretty well. The trick is to rough up the laminate surface with a coarse sand paper like an 80 grit on the laminate parts. Use a higher grit like 200 on the rest of the wooden parts.






Here's the sequence of steps I used:

1 - Use 80 grit sand paper on the laminate parts.
2 - Use 200 grit to sand the wooden parts. [Wrap the sand paper around the leg and clench with your hand and go round and forth to get the legs sanded.] I actually removed the legs on this item and worked on them separately.
3 - Clean the entire item. First dust off with a soft brush, then vacuum, then use rubbing alcohol on a clean rag to remove all remaining dust.
4 - Spray the entire item with spray paint primer (Zinssor makes some good ones). Allow to dry. Use steel wool to sand the entire item. Clean with Step 3 techniques again (always use Step 3 cleaning techniques between each spray coat).
5 - Spray a second coat of primer. Allow to dry. Sand with steel wool and clean again.
6 - Spray with desired color of spray paint -- a very, very light coat -- not even getting close to covering the item color underneath. Keep the spray paint can away about 10" and move around quickly but smoothly. Never allow the spray paint to focus in one spot. Allow to dry. Sand with steel wool and clean again.
7 - Continue to add coats of spray paint -- a very light coat each time -- allowing to dry, sanding with steel wool, and cleaning each time. This might take up to 5 or 6 coats.
8 - The final coat should complete the color coverage. After wards, with the finest of steel wool, lightly sand the project. Wipe with a clean cloth and You're Done!