How to Spray Paint A Filing Cabinet

When trying to figure out how to spruce up my office I wasn't sure where to start. Suddenly I was thrust back into a familiar almost college dorm-like situation where I cannot paint the walls or customize anything. So what does someone do in my circumstance? Get creative and work with what you have!

First Example: Giving my old but functioning filing cabinet a much needed face lift. I knew that with some hard work and a coat of primer and spray paint I could give this cabinet new life.

Step 1: Head over to work on your filing cabinet and find your loving husband actually taking care of Step 1 for you:

Aww! Come on you gotta admit that I have a great guy. While Nathan did most of the sanding I made sure he taught me the basics. He prefers a "random orbit" sander for the best finish. After going over the cabinet a couple times we took a few sheets of sandpaper and made sure we went over the glossy areas that were left.

Step 2: Wipe down the filing cabinet to remove all the dust. Make sure to be thorough!

Step 3: Tape up the edges before you prime. We even made sure to cover the key hole with painter's tape.


Step 4: Prime the cabinet



Step 5: (once the primer has dried) try spray painting and realize that some dust must have blown into the primer since you were working on this project outside. Grr... when I started spray painting I noticed flakes popping up everywhere. My mom, a spray paint guru, came to the conclusion that it was a little windy when we were priming and thinks some dust became stuck in the primer. To rememdy the situation we purchased a sanding block and went over the cabinet until it was smooth(er).


Step 6: Spray Paint! Can you believe I've never spray painted anything in my life? There's a first time for everything! The trick is to keep the can about 5 inches away and spray in continuous, fast moving strokes. It took me 3 coats to finish this baby.

Step 7: Let it dry and then stand back and marvel. What an IMPROVEMENT! And just what my office needed. Not only was it fairly easy (I'm sure it will get better with experience and practice) but it was pretty cheap! Just a few cans of primer, spray paint and a sanding block.

Up next, how to fill blank space on the office walls... stay tuned!



~Christi