Vintage metal T.V. Tray repurposed into a magnetic chalk board.

CraftyMcDaniel
by CraftyMcDaniel
Yep I am a bit late boarding the chalkboard train. But when I found this tray, I knew I found the perfect candidate for my first chalkboard project.
Trash to treasure
Although I LOVE the original color it was a little too worn for my taste. I was also drawn to the shape of this tray. I only found one, so that means the other three are out there somewhere.
I painted the back and outside rim with Miss Lillian's NO Wax Chock paint. The color is "Barn Red" but it was a little too orange for my taste. Yet another thing I love about this paint, you can add acrylic paint to it and it doesn't change the final outcome. I wanted more of a schoolhouse red so I added way to much black. I ended up adding primary red (lots of it) to get just the shade I was looking for.
The trick to masking around curves is to cut slits in the tape, it gives it some room to bend around. This is a sewing technique that is most often used for armholes and collars.
Primer was listed as an option on the chalkboard paint can. When painting metal I prefer to use primer. I am always afraid it will chip off if I don't.
A couple coats of chalkboard paint and it looks promising!
Peeled off the tape and I love it! To create a hanger I wrapped, glued and knotted jute around the plastic cup thingies that previously attached the tray to its metal legs.
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  • Janet Mewhorter Janet Mewhorter on Jul 28, 2020

    i primed and then painted the edges of my tray. then i used blue painters tape and masked off the edges. I painted the center with chalkboard paint. when i took the tape off, it had bled thru the tape! i thought i sealed the tape edges with my fingernail well. How do i prevent this from happening and what should i do to fix the 2 i wrecked?

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