Over the past few months, I've looked for a vintage scale in every antique and thrift shop I've made an appearance in. I've found some cute ones and some not-so-cute ones. Some were meh. Most of them were $30-plus. Sorry, but I'm not paying $30 (or more) for a vintage scale. Call me cheap, but I just won't do it.
My frugal (penny-pinching) ways paid off, fellow yellows! This past weekend, one of my very best friends and I made our way to an up-and-coming antique district in Kansas City (more info on these places in the next post--get excited!). Not only was I just completely blown away by the awesomeness that awaited us within the doors (and the fact that I had no idea those places even existed?!), but when we walked out of the first shop, a mobile cupcake and coffee truck sat parked before us on the street. I told you...get excited.
Anyway, back to my penny pinching. I will have you know that good things come to those who wait. Little miss me found this little Polly Prim vintage scale for a little $7. Yes. Please, take notes.
I washed all of the grime off, then covered the face with painter's tape and aluminum foil (tip: aluminum foil will mold to the surface you're covering) and gave her a once-over with a wire brush (remember when I got that wire brush for $1.31?)
Most (a lot) of the paint came loose easily (someone had re-painted it cream over its original color...and had done a poor job of it, I might add. I'm fairly certain they used wall paint). I cleaned everything off again and I was ready to paint.
I started with one coat of gray primer to get an even painting surface and then used a silver metallic spray paint. I've never used the metallic before, so I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to work with. It dries in 15 minutes or less, but you don't have to wait between coats. It somehow goes on with perfectly even coverage.
I did actually wait for at least 15 minutes between coats...because experience tells me it's prudent. I also wanted to sand between coats for a really smooth finish. So, every 15 minutes I traipsed out to the yard and gave her another coat and considered the job well done after three coats. (Does anyone else think this kind of looks like some sort of robot??)
(By the way, that's an empty cereal box with a hole cut into it at the end so that I could stand the top part up while spraying.)
My, oh my. What a little cleaning and spray paint can do!
(Summertime is yummy!)
While I love the silver, I also think I would love red to match the needle. Scale: $7
Metallic spray paint: ($3.24)
Gray primer and 180-grit sandpaper for between-coat sanding: (already owned from previous projects)
Ladies and gents, our total comes to $10.24.
Yes. Good things come to those who wait.
When is the last time your patience paid off big?
No comments:
Post a Comment