Are teenage bedrooms ever organized, or are my sons the only ones who have their things everywhere? I was given two sets of metal lockers about a year ago, the catch was I had to haul them away. My “I” what I really mean is my husband and dad. I had grand plans to paint them and use them in my son’s room for storage and organization. We got them home, put them in the garage, and there they’ve been since that day.
To be honest, I hadn’t thought through very well how I was actually going to paint these things. I just knew I wanted them. When the opportunity came to receive a complimentary HomeRight Finish Max Sprayer as part of The Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest, I thought this just might be the opportunity to get these lockers finished.
I researched the sprayer, as well as the possibility of using chalk paint not only in the sprayer, but on metal, and it turns out you can do both! If you’re not too familiar with the HomeRight sprayer, you can find out all about them on the HomeRight website. But they say that you can paint just about anything with this easy to use fine finish sprayer. That’s right, paint, chalk paint, clear sealer, polyurethane, primer, stain or varnish.
Well, in that case, I was definitely up for the challenge! The theme for the contest was “Spray it Pretty”. I thought that may have been an issue with the lockers, but my son chose a beautiful teal color for them. And while I’ll never, ever tell him, that color works pretty! In his space it’s also quite masculine, so it’s a very versatile color.
The first thing we did was remove the top six doors from the lockers. We wanted to be able to display some of his shoe collection or sports memorabilia, whatever.
Next, I used a steel brush attached to my drill to remove the rusty spots. Make sure if you do this, you wear protection on your eyes, mouth, and hands.
Next, I cleaned the entire locker with TSP and let them dry completely.
I hung some plastic tablecloths to protect my area, and moved these beasts in place to be painted. These lockers are heavy I tell you!
Before I began with the HomeRight sprayer, I wanted one extra level of protection on those rusty spots, so I sprayed them with Rust-oleum and let the lockers dry again.
Next, time for the fun!
The sprayer is easy to use and understand if you read the instructions! <——- Don’t skip that part!!
Using the measuring cup provided, and the chart in the instructions, I mixed my paint with water. I used FolkArt chalk paint (the color is called Grotto). Don’t be afraid of the mixing/consistency part, it’s very easy.
Next, using even strokes, I painted the lockers.
The entire set of lockers took about 30 minutes to complete. That included the time it took to refill my sprayer.
I let the chalk paint dry overnight for 24 hours and did a second coat. They didn’t really need it, the first coat covered really well. But everything I read about chalk painting metal advised two coats, so that’s what I did.
Listen, I am in awe of this paint sprayer! I’m wondering why I never tried one before now. I remember the first time I used chalk paint, and the “no-prep” that went into it was revolutionary. Now for me, I can’t imagine doing large furniture pieces with a paintbrush again unless I have to. Cleaning your sprayer is time consuming and meticulous, but it’s 100% worth it.
I can’t wait to try another piece!
In the meantime, the lockers look fantastic in my son’s room. I “edited” his stuff off of them for these pics, but I can say that he likes them and has actually stored a ton of items in them. If you ever find yourself with the opportunity to grab a set for yourself, I say go for it (just try not to let them sit unfinished for a year like I did, lol)!