Sunday, January 25, 2015

Vintage TV Tray Makeover & Arctic Boy Water Cooler Find

Remember my metal TV tray that I wanted to paint after finishing my aqua bar cart?  I had every intention of refinishing this tray a lot sooner than this, but it is finally done!  Here it is before.  I found only one similar online but there was no price.  It has been sitting outside all winter and was a rusty mess.
 Cody and I went to his shop and got to work yesterday.  My first job was to get all the rust scrubbed off.  Can you believe the rust that was pouring off this thing with every spray of the degreaser?  It was crazy.  There was even more than that after I sanded it.  
 In to the paint booth it went to get a coat of primer.  Cody even let me spray it!  Here we are all decked out in our spray masks in the paint booth.  Those masks are no fun and the paint booth gets really hot...it makes me admire Cody even more for the hard work he does everyday.
After the primer was dry we mixed up this sweet pink color.  We painted it white first because I wanted to adhere this doily onto it and spray the pink over it so it would look like it had a doily on it at all times.  Unfortunately, the air pressure was too high and it didn't work so we just painted the whole thing pink.  I still want to put a fake doily on it though...somehow! 
 Right now it is inside with some pretty Valentine's Day decorations on it, but soon enough it will be out on the patio being put to good use.  I am sure it will still be a few more months until it is warm enough to be enjoyed outside, so this will work for now.
 I have to say, being in on the whole process from start to finish makes me want to do even more projects like this with Cody at work.  I want to buy all the metal things and paint them!
Here is another fun vintage treasure that needs no refinishing whatsoever.  We found this in an old abandoned shed.  Why would anyone leave this?  I wasn't sure if it was really old or not because it has a plastic lining, but sure enough, it is vintage! 
Arctic Boy water coolers were used in the 50's and 60's.  The outside is a lovely galvanized metal and the inside is white plastic.  I won't be using it to cool any water, but I do think it would make a lovely planter.  As soon as the warm weather gets here, I can't wait to add some pretty bright flowers to put in it.   
Hope you all have a wonderful week!

7 comments:

Donna said...

Wow, your tv tray looks completely different! Love the pink. You are so lucky to have a hubby that paints professionally!! The cooler is a fun find. Love your idea of using it as a planter. It would be fun filled with ice and bottles of drinks at a summer party, too!

Jenny's Heart said...

So sweet and pretty. I love all your projects! Tell Cody hey for me.
Love ya

bj said...

Well, first off, may I just say, ya'll look so so cute in those masks. :) :) :)
I, being as old as the hills, grew up with those tv trays...how I wish I had kept one or two...I had NO idea that they could be so
PRETTY IN PINK....:)

Betsy@My Salvaged Treasures said...

I love your pink tray. It's too bad you couldn't get the doily design, but it's lovely as it is. That old cooler is going to make a wonderful planter. Thanks for sharing at Vintage Inspiration Party

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

Trisha the pink tray really is so cute. Love the color! It will look awesome with your aqua cart. The Artic boy is a fabulous find! Thanks for sharing with SYC. I'm thinking that you could paint the back side of the doily lightly, heavy paint would run. And then quickly press it onto the tray. I would try it on something else first. Even if it didn't all come off it might just give it a vintage feel. Just a thought.
hugs,
Jann

Maria said...

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Unknown said...

Great makeover! Thanks so much for linking.
Xo
Isabelle
http://www.lechateaudesfleurs.com/