Plastic and Pressboard Bar!

Danielle Colomb Weaver
by Danielle Colomb Weaver
3 Materials
$75
4 Days
Easy
Just a repainted bar from a second-hand store, hiding a multitude of sins.
What are you, little friend?
Saw this weird, little bar with fold-out top at a second-hand store and knew it could have a new life. The hardware was old, the door panels chipped and gross, drawer and base moldings scratched to hell. It's a combination of real wood, pressboard and plastic, if you can believe it! (those awesome gothic-ish doors are just plastic panels over a single pane of glass)
Can it be saved?
It also had a light in the door storage area. I had no idea if refinishing it would do anything - but it was worth a try, especially for the nice fold-out top My husband and I had planned to build a built-in bar in our living room, but our new sectional couch took up a little more space than anticipated, so we needed a smaller option.
Before: Door
I started by cleaning the piece with lysol wipes. I then lightly sanded the surfaces that needed a little roughing up. Like I said, it's a combo of plastic, wood and pressboard, so I was very careful how and where I was sanding. Essentially I wanted to knock off some of the crusted on dirt that accumulated over the decades and knock off the loose finish of the original piece. I removed the doors, drawer, knobs and glass and got to work...
The paint.
I chose this hammered finish brown oil-based Rustoleum paint. I've NEVER ever used oil paint before, but I was looking for something with a textured finish to hide some of the uneven finish, and really give this surface some strength against liquids (it is a bar after all!). :) No idea if oil paint holds up against water better than latex, but it sounds like a reasonable assumption to me!
After: Door
So I grabbed a nice quality brush and just went to town, with several coats of the hammered brown paint. This was a giant experiment start to finish. I think I did this project in February - and it was covered in snow on my porch for at least a few weeks before I got to it. So I had NO clue if this was even going to be presentable, or end up kindling for my firepit. But I persisted! Through freezing weather I painted this (and I know Im not supposed to!) but I went slow, and when my hands got numb, I took a break from it. :) Fast and loose, people.
"Floor" of the cabinet
I bought a pack of peel and stick floor tiles off of Amazon to use on the inside floor of the cabinet. It's a faux-wood gray tone. I wanted it to be a nice sealed surface for the liquor bottle storage, in case something tipped over and leaked. These vinyl tiles are great because you can cut them with an X-acto knife and scissors. It was a quick finish for the bottom of the door area.
The Knobs.
I replaced the old drawer knobs and pulls with these from Home Depot. Probably a little too pricy for what they were (I think they were $5 a piece), but I am impatient and like to finish my projects quickly!! I didn't want to wait to find something cheaper.
Finished bar cabinet.
And here's the result of my painting efforts. I It was very nice to see it come together. It holds all our liquor bottles and the drawer is great for keeping bottle openers, straws, little drink umbrellas, etc. :)
With the lights aglow!
It's such a pretty glow against the hardwood floors when the lights are down in our living room. There's room to add a shelf in the cabinet, which I may do in the future to store some stemware and rocks glasses. icon
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  3 questions
  • Joanne Joanne on Sep 27, 2017

    well done! Did you leave the bar top that looks like a matte black as is or did you have to redo that surface as well ?

  • Lynne Lynne on Sep 27, 2017

    beautiful job, and i love the color!! my house is so small i had to cut the dry wall outside in the snow, fun times

  • Mary jane Mary jane on Nov 03, 2017

    Wasn't that called Spanish ? My neighbor around 1970 had a house full of it.

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