Up cycled Army Field Desk

CraftyMcDaniel
by CraftyMcDaniel
A friend scored on this curb find with a well traveled Army Field Desk. She requested that it match her office furniture, which was not Army green. This transformation is so chic!
Worn from travels via Army life. The stickers on this number dated back to The Vietnam Era.
All sanded and ready to be primed.
All primed and ready for its new life to begin.
My plan was to spray paint the whole thing to achieve the smoothest finish possible. I really despise spray painting.This is after three coats. On to plan b.
Plan B: DecoArt Designer Series Acrylic Paint. Ahhhh much better. I usually paint with Miss Lillian's Chock Paint (yes chock not chalk, it is chalk paint but better because it has a sealer in it, so no waxing in the end) but this item is metal and wood and I haven't used the chock paint on metal before and I feared it would peel off.
Just like painting a room. It is best to paint corners and crevices first.
I used a roller first to evenly distribute the paint and to avoid brush strokes.
I used a smaller brush to get into all the nooks and crannies.
Then one more once over with the roller to achieve a smooth look.
On to the rivets. I painted them with a Krylon paint pen. The one on the right is one of the best looking, I was not happy with the inconsistent look. Brainstorming time; should I just spray paint every rivet pink and then figure out how to mask around every one?, should I use a stencil?, where do I buy pink 1/4" dots? There were close to 500 rivets on the whole piece!
My Silhouette Cameo saves the day! Yes I painstakingly glued EVERY dot and then sealed with two coats of clear fingernail polish.
Time to seal the deal. I applied a generous coat of Mod Podge.
Gave it the once over with the roller to give it a smooth finish.
Ohh so pretty.
I had spray painted the remaining hardware prior to painting the black. Again with the spray paint, I really just don't like the look of it so I hand painted over it. Gave it all a healthy layer of Mod Podge and here she is. All ready for her new life as a Diva!
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 83 comments
  • Darla Darla on Apr 30, 2014
    As you wrote, the color combination is not to your taste, but was your customer's request. I like it. It's not my style either, but it sure reminds me of "old Hollywood". Very Forties/Fifties. Diva style, all the way.
  • Dav349927 Dav349927 on May 31, 2014
    Love it
Next