Sometimes a makeover involves making a thing unrecognisable from what it originally was, such as; I can’t believe that succulents display case used to be a Porsche! Other times a makeover involves little more than good old fashioned TLC to bring an item back to its former glory. I had been searching for a chest that could double up as a coffee table for over a year and had not managed to find one at the right price. I am a firm believer that a home can never have too many blankets, and in a drafty Victorian house it is vital that you have a stash of blankets in the living room so a trunk was essential. When I saw this metal one on Ebay I was watching it in an instant and marked the end of the auction in my diary. The thing that I loved about it was the G.W.R. (Great Western Railway), I was hoping that the marking would put most people off, and I was right there were no last minute battles on Ebay and it was mine. You can read my Ebay tips HERE.
The inside was heavily rusted so I had to clean it and dry it. Then treat it by painting the rust with red oxide paint, you can see from the photo that I almost forgot to take a before photo again as the red oxide paint is already going on. I decided to do the whole of the inside as opposed to just treating the spots of rust. After I had finished painting the trunk with the red oxide paint I kind of fell in love with the vibrant colour but decided to plough ahead and spray the interior grey. I am glad that I did the grey looks amazing. Here is a close up of the grey colour and some other shots of my rather wonderful Ebay steal that needed very little making over!
When using spray paint be sure to do it outside, and leave it to dry longer than you would expect to. Spray paint often feels dry to the touch but the layers underneath take longer, rule of thumb, if in doubt – wait and wait some more.