How to Paint a Metal Cabinet

 DIY: Furniture Redo! Painting metal

 I found this cabinet at an estate sale for $10.00.

 But it was ugly. And gross. And old.

 But I had a vision for it and figured I'd just give it a makeover so I could use it in my craft room.

 So here are the steps for painting metal... This goes for file cabinets, metal boxes, mailboxes, etc.

1. Clean (I had to scrub the you know what out of this thing) thoroughly.
2. Sand with 100 or 200 grit sandpaper. If there is any rust, sand it all off.
3. Wipe down so the surface is free of dust.
4. After putting a drop cloth down, spray entire surface with metal primer. This makes it possible for paint to adhere and prevents future rust. I bought 2 cans of it since this was a big project and I wanted to make sure rust wouldn't take over.
5. After the primer is dry, you can paint with any kind of paint. Some say to get the metal proof spray paint, but they didn't have the color choices I wanted, so I got the $5 paint samples from Sherwin Williams and love the outcome. The colors are Tantalizing Teal and Butter Up Yellow, and the two of them mixed. I put 3 coats on the outside and 2 on the inside.

That's it!!

 So you may be thinking, that looks silly... why would Sarah choose such bright colors (and different colors)? Well because I like colorful things and I knew that the only place I could get away with it is in my craft room.

 And because it looks way cooler when it's filled with wonderful craft supplies. And organized :)

 I still have to find some good handles for it, but I love how it doubles as a magnetic pinboard. What better place to display things that inspire me than on my supply cabinet?!

It will end up costing me about $35.00 after I get new handles. A small price to pay for the amount of storage and happiness I get out of it. 

If you have an old ugly file cabinet or anything metal that needs a facelift, give it a try. It's worth it, and satisfying! I enjoyed having this project to work on and enjoy it more now that I cleaned up junk that previously made my craft room look like a war zone.