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Pimp that Cozy Ride- Little Tikes Car Makeover

September 1, 2011 by Molly

little tikes car makeover

Unless you live in a cave, you’ve all seen the typical faded Little Tikes cars of various types. You have to admit, Little Tikes toys are kind of like the cockroach on Wall-E. They’re made so well, they’re going to be around forever no matter what happens to the world around us. However, if they’re left outside, the colors fade and they start to look pretty worn out, although they still have lots of life left in them.

I’ve had it finished for a bit, but wanted to see how well it held up before I tell everyone how to go do this themselves.

I’ve read lots about the Krylon Fusion for Plastics spray paint, and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to put it to use. For this project I used the Krylon Patriotic Blue Fusion for Plastic and in Hunter Green. I also used regular Krylon MAXX in silver metallic for the bolts on the wheels and the steering wheel.

Also, if you haven’t already seen it, I’ve completely made over an old bouncing pony with the Krylon Plastics paint, be sure to check it out HERE.

Anyway, back to the car, shall we?

Little Man’s car was originally the red and yellow kind that after years, looked more like pink and cream (sorry about the terrible fuzzy pic).

Following the manufactures instructions on the Krylon spray paint, I cleaned the car. Prep work is extremely important on this project. Next, I took it apart, which surprisingly was easy, because only two screws hold it together. Once I did that, I was shocked at how much nastiness hangs out in the cracks and crevices of this toy, and I had to clean the grimey parts again.

Next, I put plastic bags over the wheels, and taped up all the small parts I didn’t want painted blue or green, and went to town. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel, so I’m not going to give a tutorial on how to spray paint without dripping, etc, but I’m sure there’s one out there somewhere.

The directions said the paint would be dry in 15 minutes, and ready to use within the hour. I actually let it set overnight before moving to the next step of taping off and painting the smaller details. I taped off the wheels and steering wheel and gave it a coat of Krylon silver. This actually wasn’t plastics paint, but I thought I’d give it a try anyway.

*NOTE* If I were ever to do this again, I would do the painting order opposite of what I did. I’d paint all the small parts FIRST, then cover them and paint the bigger parts.

After letting it dry overnight again, I was ready to put it back together. Once it was put back together, I had some finishing touches to take care of. With my white paint pen, I added a pinstripe, a license plate, and some eyes and a grill. Once that dried well, and just for good measure, I covered the entire car with Krylon for plastics Clear Coat.

I finished this car makeover about a month ago, and it has since been played with, climbed on, driven, and even left outside in the rain. I can honestly say that so far it looks as good as it did the first day. The only part of the paint that has worn off at all is where the door opens and closes. It just rubs too closely I guess. You can’t even see it when the door is closed though.

Needless to say, my sons love it! I’m on the lookout now for more cars to makeover. Wouldn’t a green and yellow John Deere car be awesome? You never know, one of these days, you just might see one here.


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Filed Under: Furniture Tagged With: before and after, craft, DIY, kids, little tikes, makeover, spray paint

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jess says

    September 1, 2011 at 3:54 pm

    Awesome! Next time I find one of these faded cars at a yard sale or something, I'm on it.

  2. The Doodler says

    September 1, 2011 at 5:22 pm

    I see these cars at yard sales all the time, now I know not to pass them up! Thanks for sharing!

    Brie from darlingdoodles.blogspot.com

  3. Lesley says

    September 1, 2011 at 5:23 pm

    Oh that is so cool! Good for you!

  4. Just Me.... says

    September 1, 2011 at 7:59 pm

    Wow that is pretty darm amazing. I need to start getting alittle bit more crafty..lol
    New follower from the blog hop would love it if you could come over and check out my site.

  5. destined for home says

    September 1, 2011 at 8:05 pm

    We have a yard full of toys that could stand to be spruced up like this. Never even considered painting them. Thx!

  6. Cook Clean Craft says

    September 1, 2011 at 9:16 pm

    That turned out great. Our Cozy Coupe was a hand-me-down from a neighbour, so it could definitely do with a remodel, although keeping my son away from it for a day or two may be a struggle!

  7. Eschelle says

    September 2, 2011 at 12:05 am

    great idea I should have done this with ours when we had one lol!! We had to give it up though as we moved into an apartment.

  8. malia says

    September 2, 2011 at 12:31 am

    wow your version is fab! following you via blogger + twitter ( -: happy to meet ya! malia

  9. Jayda says

    September 2, 2011 at 3:19 am

    New follower from the friday Hop and I have to say I never thought about repainting and now I am wondering why not…its a great frugal way to bring life back to those outdoor toys!!

    awesome!

    http://twochildrenandamigraine.blogspot.com/

  10. The Jacobsen Family! says

    September 2, 2011 at 6:11 am

    Wow! WAY cuter! Great job!
    New follower from the hop! Would love a follow back!
    http://ourjacobsenfamily.blogspot.com

  11. TexaGermaNadian says

    September 2, 2011 at 8:06 am

    So cute! You did a great job on this. Those cars fade so badly, but you 'pimped' it right up, didn't you Xzibit! Haha. Stopped over from the Friday Blog Hop. Have a great one!
    http://texagermanadian.blogspot.com/

  12. Natalie says

    September 2, 2011 at 12:26 pm

    Wow!! That's a huge difference! I love this so much! Thank you SO much for sympathizing with me on my contest misery and for voting too! I really appreciate it! And now I get to discover your blog and I love it!! It's so clean and organized and I can't wait to have time to putz around and look at everything! Definitely a new follower! Have a great day!

  13. Good Girl Gone Green says

    September 2, 2011 at 2:11 pm

    WOW, you really pimped u his ride! Great job!

  14. kristen says

    September 2, 2011 at 2:20 pm

    that's awesome!!! I would have never thought that you could pimp a cozy ride. We have basically that same old style Cozy Coupe for our munchkin. It's his favorite toy ever.

    new follower via blog hop!

  15. Melanie says

    September 2, 2011 at 4:47 pm

    SOOOO cute

  16. Shiloh says

    September 2, 2011 at 5:12 pm

    Oh boy! What a fun idea! It looks so much better:) I'm a new follower from Hop till you Drop:)

  17. Free Things By Britney says

    September 2, 2011 at 5:47 pm

    Ha! That looks great!

  18. Frazzled Mama says

    September 2, 2011 at 7:05 pm

    Hi!!! I'm stopping by and following from Blog Hop Till You Drop. I hope you'll check out my blog Frazzled Mama at http://frazzled-mama.com and follow me back.

    Hope you have a great weekend.

  19. Jess and the boys says

    September 2, 2011 at 7:16 pm

    CUTE!! I'm a new follower! Please follow back if you get the chance! 🙂

    -Jessica
    And Then There Were 4…
    http://www.giveawaysandlife.blogspot.com/

  20. Tammy in NE says

    September 2, 2011 at 7:53 pm

    I like the colors you chose. We did this with an old Little Tykes car we picked up at a garage sale ($5!) early this summer. DH painted the exterior black, the interior is cherry red, and we stenciled flames on the doors. Now I'm looking for one to do in pink and purple for my young nieces. :o)

  21. Free eBooks Daily says

    September 2, 2011 at 10:07 pm

    What a difference – the car looks amazing!
    I am a new follower. Looking forward to reading more of your posts.

    Hope to see you on my blog – Free eBooks Daily. (You can even read ebooks on your computer or smartphone!)
    http://www.freeebooksdaily.com

  22. PitterAndGlink says

    September 3, 2011 at 3:14 pm

    I think you may be a magician! Love the transformation! Visiting from Tatertots and Jello. 🙂

  23. Mimi says

    September 3, 2011 at 4:23 pm

    I love this! My kids are grown and I wish that paint had been around when they were little. What a fabulous job!

  24. emily @morefromthemoorefamily says

    September 6, 2011 at 3:44 am

    We did this with our little Tikes hand-me down table, last year… it works well, but if it's an area that gets used a lot it will wear, but STILL looks better than the faded!!! 🙂

  25. Shelly Peterson says

    September 8, 2011 at 6:22 am

    How awesome! You did a great job fixing that up!

  26. Material Girl Green says

    September 10, 2011 at 2:04 pm

    This came out great! Love the new colors! I'm a new follower http://materialgirlgreen.blogspot.com
    I also love your baby artwork on your etsy

  27. Mindie Hilton says

    September 13, 2011 at 8:55 pm

    That is amazing, what a great before and after pic. I am going to feature you on Thursday afternoon at Bacon Time 🙂

  28. Abby says

    September 21, 2011 at 2:32 am

    Wow, great mind think alike…
    http://thriftywithtriplets.blogspot.com/2011/09/pimp-my-ride-toddler-edition.html
    Although, I must say, you went all they way. I did not think to take it apart 🙂 I just taped the parts I did not want painted.

  29. kpmattingly says

    November 5, 2011 at 7:03 pm

    So cute!!! Great job! 🙂

  30. allenaim photography and design says

    November 5, 2011 at 9:58 pm

    AWESOME…my boys would DIE!

  31. Angie @ The Country Chic Cottage says

    November 6, 2011 at 6:03 pm

    This is amazing!! Thanks for linking up to OMTWI!!

  32. Jessica Lucas says

    March 24, 2012 at 10:23 pm

    months later i stumbled upon this…i love it and i'll be trying it soon. how's it holding up?

    jess @
    tupelocreative.blogspot.com

  33. Megan B says

    April 6, 2012 at 6:38 pm

    I am about to paint my son's playhouse and I too would love to know how it's holding up?
    Thanks!
    Megan

  34. Debilou ~ Mississippi Mama says

    May 11, 2012 at 2:20 pm

    I have never even thought about painting one of these.. I have two grandgirls that will need one in a year or so.. Ill be on the lookout for one now. Yours looks great

  35. Megan says

    August 18, 2012 at 12:41 pm

    Can I ask how many cans of spray paint it took?

  36. karenmed409 says

    September 30, 2012 at 11:02 pm

    Love it.. I am thinking of revamping ours, he has gone throught 9 kids..I got new wheels arriving next week and I like your idea

  37. diane says

    October 31, 2012 at 2:31 am

    I just found a car similar to this but its a bed I am going to paint it like a ladybug for my granddaughter now I know how thanks for the post

  38. Michelle says

    May 14, 2013 at 5:00 am

    Thanks for your blog post on this! Gave me the assurance that my project would work out. Here is a link to mine completed!

    http://shrunkengiraffe.blogspot.ca/2013/05/little-tikes-coupe-makeover.html

  39. Reiko says

    June 13, 2013 at 11:16 pm

    This is just what I did last summer and had high hopes for it to last but it really didn't. The paint goes on really well and looks great for about 4 months when it just starts peeling and chipping. Hopefully yours will last longer than mine.

  40. scoop says

    January 21, 2014 at 6:28 pm

    impressed, so well done! I have so many outdoor kids toys that have come faded from yard sales- this really dresses something old up, thanks for sharing the great idea!

  41. Anonymous says

    June 4, 2014 at 8:09 am

    I repainted a battery operated quad for my grandson. After I sanded it I sprayed
    on a coat of plastic paint adhesion/
    adhesive that I picked up at a paint
    store. The product makes the plastic
    paint adhere better to the plastic. I
    then used a plastic primer and finally
    the plastic paint.

    It has held up fairly well but it did come off when it got scratched. For the time & money
    spent, I would not go to the extent that I did. It doesn't matter to my grandson in the least. He was just happy to have it. The "looks like new" was what I wanted. I need to quit being such a perfectionist! Keep It Simple! Definitely the way to go!

  42. fivepaintedlane.com says

    June 8, 2014 at 2:54 am

    Love it!!!

  43. Anonymous says

    July 8, 2014 at 10:31 pm

    I just found one of these in someone's trash by the road. Of course I couldn't pass that up! Was thinking of ways to paint it, maybe even a cute little Halloween coupe, but yours is soooo cute. You did an awesome job!

  44. Anonymous says

    May 9, 2015 at 12:40 am

    I just bought a used one for 15$ and painted it -followed your directions. Wow! I decided to paint the bottom blue and the top red, and the gas cap bright yellow. It matches the play-set colors in my yard and looks amazing. Thanks for the great idea. My grandsons LOVE their "new" car.

  45. Ebeth says

    November 22, 2015 at 5:39 am

    Curious to know if the paint pen portions have stayed on well. I want to get one of those push buggies for my niece for Christmas and personalize it with her name and am trying to figure out the best paint/method

  46. Laura says

    February 28, 2017 at 11:08 am

    Hi
    Just wondering how well the paint job held up. Thanks so much for your blog.

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