Transform your filing cabinet effortlessly with a budget-friendly DIY makeover under $10 using spray paint
Transforming a Filing Cabinet with Colorful Stripes: A DIY Guide
Ready to give your old filing cabinet a fresh, modern look? This tutorial will guide you through the process of spray painting a metal filing cabinet with stripes, adding wheels for mobility, and creating a budget-friendly piece of modern office decor.
1. Cleaning and Prep
Start by thoroughly cleaning the cabinet with soap and water. Remove any sticker residue using Goo Gone or a similar product. This ensures the surface is free of dirt, grease, and old adhesive.
2. Remove Drawers and Tape Areas
Remove the drawers for easier access. Use painter’s tape and a ruler to mark off the stripes you want to paint. Carefully apply tape to get even, straight lines on the drawers, pressing down the tape edges well to avoid paint bleed.
3. Primer and Base Coat
Spray a white primer base coat on the metal cabinet and drawers. For aluminum or metal, using a self-etching primer is recommended to ensure better adhesion and durability. Once dry, apply your base color in several light coats for even coverage. Let dry between coats.
4. Painting the Stripes
Paint one stripe at a time, letting each dry for several hours before applying the next to avoid smudging or bleeding. Use butcher paper or extra painter’s tape to protect areas between stripes. You can use various spray paint colors; ensure they are suitable for metal and preferably durable with a gloss or satin finish.
5. Seal (Optional)
After painting the stripes, you can add a clear protective coat spray paint to seal the paintwork and increase durability, especially if the cabinet will be moved or used heavily.
6. Adding Wheels (Optional)
Measure and cut a wood base that fits inside the bottom of the cabinet’s base along two edges to support the wheels. Secure this wooden base with screws drilled into the cabinet’s base. Attach the casters to the wood base with wood screws, adding mobility to your filing cabinet.
7. Reassemble
Put the drawers back in place, and your painted and possibly wheeled metal filing cabinet is ready to use.
This method ensures a clean, professional look with colorful stripes on a metal filing cabinet and adds the convenience of wheels if needed. Consider allowing ample drying time between steps for best results.
Materials Required
- A filing cabinet
- Spray paint in various colors
- Wood screws
- Butcher paper or newsprint
- A 3 x 3 turning blank
- Casters
Tips and Considerations
- Flat head screws would have been more suitable for the project, but tapered screws were used instead. It might have been better to paint the base after adding the wood and screws so that the screws match the base color.
- If using specific spray paints, check their primer and finish recommendations—industrial or enamel spray paints intended for metal usually require priming and offer durable finishes such as gloss or satin.
- The tutorial also includes an optional step for adding wheels to the cabinet for extra mobility.
- A used filing cabinet purchased for $5 was used for the tutorial.
- A printable version of the tutorial is available.
- The process involves cleaning the cabinet, removing drawers, taping off areas to be painted, and applying several light coats of spray paint.
- The tutorial is budget-friendly and can transform a thrifted cabinet into modern office decor.
1.budget-friendly modern office decor: You can reinvent your old filing cabinet by adding colorful stripes with this DIY guide, resulting in a budget-friendly addition to your home-and-garden's lifestyle.
2.home-and-garden lifestyle: After giving your filing cabinet a new lease of life with colorful stripes, consider upgrading the overall look of your home-and-garden with coordinating home decor items, maintaining a consistent theme throughout your lifestyle space.
