You’ve seen it all over the internet. You wanted to try it, but it just seemed so naughty…and…wrong. But all those deviants made it look so, so attractive.
Spray paint on plastic, that is. You’ve seen it here and here and here on ApartmentTherapy.
So dirty. So evil. Yet, so, so enticing.
When I scored this Little Tikes Cook ‘n Clean Kitchen at DI for a measly $5, I was psyched. I knew my time had come to head to the dark side and try painting on the forbidden surface.
Sigh. I was really going to pimp this baby out. I was going to create new stickers and add a curtain. But it turns out, painting on plastic still isn’t’ the greatest idea.
While I didn’t use the Krylon Fusion suggested in the examples I found online, the paint I DID use (Rustoleum brand) specifically noted on the packaging that was had an extremely strong bond and was perfect for plastic. Just be be sure, I cleaned the kitchen with ammonia and sanded it with extra-fine sandpaper (I know, right?! I never like projects that take multiple steps).
I painted multiple coats and followed the instructions on the paint can to a T.
Things were starting to look good…
But after a couple days of drying time, I realized my project had gone awry.
I tried to pop one of the cabinet doors back into place on the kitchen, and I quickly ended up with scratches galore.
While I hadn’t waited the seven days for “maximum durability” as noted on the paint can, I figured that two day was plenty to very carefully try to piece the the thing back together.
But no, this was a DIY project for the fail files. Perhaps if I had given it a few more days of drying time…or if I had put a couple coats of clearcoat on top of the color… Maybe then it would have worked out. But honestly? I wasn’t too keen on spray painting the hell out of something and handing it to my toddler to put her mouth all over, anyway. I was going to be okay with it if the paint seemed REEEEEAAAALLLLYYYY durable. But no. It didn’t. Harper would slam this thing with a fake pot a couple times, and we’d have a chemical disaster on our hands. No bueno. And I really don’t think a few more days of drying would have helped all that much.
So, there you have it. Not all crafting projects in blogland turn out Pinterest-worthy! I know mine certainly don’t.
Have you tried any spray paint specifically designed for plastic? How did it work out? Have you ever had the perfect DIY project in your head, and it turned out to be a failure? Do tell!
laurenydahl
26
5
