Haleigh's Digital Citizenship Blog: Pinterest Project- FINAL POST

Final Project:
How To Repaint Laminate Furniture

Time Spent

Prep- 1 hour

Sanding- 2 hours

Priming- 1 hour

Painting Coat 1- 1 hour

Painting Coat 2- 1 hour

Total- 6 hours

Before

1) Sand everything down. No need to sand it to the wood, but just enough where the shiny finish is off. I suggest using a hard item (I found a decorative wooden block) to help speed up the sanding process. Sanding with just your hands takes twice as long and at some points it burned me from the friction. Another suggestion to expedite the sanding process would be to sand in a circular motion. As Mr. Miyagi would say... wax on, wax off.

Sanding

2) Time to prime. Priming is essential to the process because without it, your paint won't stick and may come out uneven. The nice man at Home Depot suggested I get something called Gripper. It is a primer and sealer in one. (I used White Glidden Interior/Exterior Gripper) I bought a quart but only used about 1/2 of it for this specific dresser. I used just a plain ol' angled paint brush and covered every inch. It is much thicker than paint, so keep that in mind and try to cover it using the thinnest layer possible. This will make your paint look a lot smoother.

Priming Materials

Before Priming (bottom) After Priming (top)

My Signature ;)

3) Let it dry. I suggest letting it dry overnight even though the gripper seemed to dry pretty quickly. Better safe than sorry.

After Priming

4) Paint it. I suggest using semi-gloss interior paint. It came out shiny and professional looking but not laminate-like. (I got a quart of Glidden "True Turquoise" Semi-Gloss Interior Premium Paint) I bought a quart, but I only used about half of it. Use a small foam roller brush. The foam part is important because it will create the smooth, even look you want.

Paint Time!

5) Let it dry for an hour or so and go ahead and put a second coat on. Applying the second coat was definitely worth it and made a huge difference in the intensity of the color.

Before and After Painting

6) Let it dry overnight. Paint needed longer than the gripper did to dry. Make sure its not "sticky" before you mess with it too much or it may mess up the paint.

Letting it Dry

FINAL PRODUCT

Before and After

Before, Primed, Painted

I have always been a fan of Pinterest and DIY projects, so this project was really enjoyable for me. I like to be creative and therefore the Give-Back portion was my favorite aspect of the assignment. I learned through this project that there is a cheap way to make ANYTHING. I also came to realize that putting all of these unique ideas in one place makes Pinterest a very useful application. I also was introduced to the Instuctables website which is something I can see my self utilizing at some point.

I achieved my first home renovation project by taking on the difficult task of redoing my dresser. The dresser is now an eye-catching piece of furniture instead of an eyesore. I’m happy with how it turned out and I am excited that I was able to contribute my art and craftsmanship into the room. It makes the room feel much more personal. I will definitely continue creating DIY Pinterest inspired projects in the future!

GIVE-BACK

Longboard Cup Holder

Pinterest Post

Supplies

- Bendable Aluminum

- Coozie

- Guitar Capo

- Longboard

Step by Step

1) Take aluminum and cut it (if its not already) into a circle slightly larger than the coozie.

2) Fold the edges all the way around the aluminum circle so that it fits snug into the bottom of the coozie. This creates more support for the cans and cups.