Filing Cabinet Makeover-Tutorial

Hey Everyone. Crazy 2 here! Hope you all had a good holiday! Soooo...

Filing cabinets. They're ugly. Period. My husband has been saying for a while that we need to get one so that we can clear out crap. So, for Christmas, I bought him one from the D.I. for $12. Sweet deal right? Only problem? U.G.L.Y. So, I decided to paint it. (i forgot to take a complete before photos so i snagged one off the internet that looked exactly the same.

After Christmas, out of curiosity, i went and looked at WM to see what a comperable price for these was brand new...... $40!!!!!! for a 2 drawer. That made me feel awesome.

Step 1: Hide it-- i took it up to my mom's so that i could come and work on it without my hubby knowing. Found a nice little home for it in the basement til i could return and revamp it.

Step 2: Gut-- With the help of my mom, i took out all the drawers and the tracks and was left with the shell.

Step 3: Clean Surfaces Thoroughly

Step 4: Prime-- I used rust-oleum and a small paint roller. Caution!! Do not rinse the paint out of the roller with your bare hands! It took about 20 minutes and a quart of laquer thinner to get my hands clean.

Step 5: Top Coat--I had to do a couple of these to get a pure white

Step 6: Pencil in-- Make your straight lines going all the way around the cabinet. I used a long piece of mdf and marked it every 5 inches then made the same marks on each corner of the cabinet. Then, i connected the lines using the mdf as a ruler/straight edge. THIS TAKES TIME. Don't rush. do it right or you'll be sorry.

Step 7: Mark & Tape--I marked every other stripe with a "G" so that i would not get confused about which stripe was what color. then i taped the OUTER lines of all the grey strips. Take your time taping as well. I believe this step took me about 3 hours. But it was worth it.

Step 8: Paint-- I got only a sample paint from Lowes because i knew i would not need much.

Step 9: Pick the right color!!!-- The original color i chose was much too dark for the look i was join for. it was the right tone, but just too intense. So i went back to Lowes, had them do the same color and -75% then had them add white. I am so happy that i did! Here's the final color

Step 10: Re-coat when dry

Step 11: Tear off tape-- While the paint is still wet, tear it off at a 45' angle

Step 12: Drawers-- For the drawers, i removed the metal handle and title holder and primed them with the same metal primer. Then i taped off the little lock knobs and spray painted the flat surface white. I gave them a couple coats then finished them with a non-yellowing clear finish.

Step 13: Finish-- For the protective top coat, i sprayed a clear enamel finisher so that the paint would not scratch off.

My husband loved this thoughtful and "hand made" gift. He also loved the $$$ i saved by going second hand. His function, my style. Everyone is happy! The whole project cost me about $30 but it looks like a million bucks!