Question about Decoupaging a metal filing cabinet...
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I've been thinking of decoupaging a couple of metal filing cabinets with pages from an old dictionary. So the paper is pretty lightweight, but not like wrapping paper or tissue paper. I've seen a bunch of tutorials on line. Some of them say to prime the filing cabinet, some say to sand it. I stripped these particular filing cabinets to the bare metal and sprayed them with clear lacquer a long time ago. (Probably should have put on a few more coats, but anyway.) I'm mentioning that in case it makes a difference.
So...to prime or to sand, that is the question.
Thanks in advance! 
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Since you have lacquer on them. Lightly sand to remove any gloss. Prime with a stain blocking primer like Zinsser 123. Then you can decoupage.
Thanks!
Keep us posted, I can't wait to see how it comes out!
I decopdogged a chair that was filled with splatters of paint and I just didn't want to strip it. The chair was done with tissue paper, torn in irregular pieces. This prevents hard edges. The whole chair is done with tissue paper and decopodge. I created this chair about 20 years ago. It's still in great condition and is now in my studio. Go ahead and get going on that project. You should also cover the decopodge with a clear varnish afterwards. Decopodge on it's own will or can be sticky without the varnish.
Wow! 20 years! I'm waiting until after I move to do the project, but I'll do it as soon as I get settled.
I did my first decoupaging early this year (search Piano Bookcase on Hometalk) and had a similar question and received advice from others Hometalkes. I endend up priming because my base was ntural wood which may have shown thru the paper. I had quite a bit of wrinkling which was flatten using an iron. Subsequently I found a post on HT ( Crafternoons: How to make paper decoupage without wrinkles) that coated the paper and let it dry and then ironed it on, reactivating the decoupage glue. Don't know it this would work on your file cabinet, but pressing with an iron maybe in order either way.
Thanks! I'll check out those posts and make sure I have an iron handy. I have a bunch of Pinterest pins about it, too.