DIY & Crafts, Family Room, Home & Garden, paint & stain

You don’t have to be tray(ned) to do this

January 31, 2012 by Elaine No Comments

I have a tray table – let’s call her Sally. Sally and I go way back, about 10 years or so. She used to live on the deck in my old condo but moved inside once we moved to our current place about five years ago. She hangs out in the ‘family area’ off the kitchen and is used daily. That Sally, she’s a keeper.

But she wasn’t a looker. Maybe once, but not anymore.

The grass cloth inlay was in okay shape but a closer look at the wood and it was easy to see that Sally’s years were showing. Read that as wrinkles and sags (sorry Sally).

But no fear! I had some plans for our dear Sally. And they involved the price of FREE!
Knowing I had some left over ORB paint (Rustoleum’s “Oil Rubbed Bronze”) from when I freshened up Chef Kev’s spice rack I began prepping Sally for her makeover.
First I removed the glass that covered the grass cloth and then I gave her a good wipe down. I made sure to clean well so that there would not be any old food residue which would interfere with the paint. 
I had plans to freshen up the inlay – more on that later – but did not want to lose/ruin the original (it is glued to the tray) incase I wanted to use it again. So, I had to make sure it was protected from the spray. Think of Sallly wearing little eye goggles as she got her spray tan.
The eye goggles consisted of two pieces of newspaper that I made about half an inch smaller than the inlay on all sides. I taped the newspaper down to the inlay with painters tape.
I also protected the fabric ribbon that stretched across the frame when open. I simply taped it as well so that it would remain paintless. Painted ribbon/fabric = crusty ribbon/fabric. Not a good look for Sally.
With her prepped I took her in to the garage and began to spray with the ORB. A few sputters later (after dumping random sprays all over Sally) the can jammed on me. Good times. I tried running the nozzle under hot water, wiping the tip to remove any dried clumps, and everything else one tries when attempting to unclog a clogged nozzle! 
I was chatting with my neighbour as I was doing all of this and as I picked away at the nozzle all of my attempted triggers caught up with me. Yes, I somehow managed to unblock a small bit and the built up pressure caused a massive spray of ORB all over me. My face, my chest, my hands, my clothes. OY! You should have seen my neighbours face.
Umm… no pictures of this step as what followed was basically me running around trying to de-ORB myself. I’m sure it looked something like this though (but blurred and with paint splatters)
source
Maybe the title of this post should have been “You HAVE TO BE a tray(ned) professional to do this”.
Whatever. Fast forward half an hour and I was back to the ORB. And it was still jammed.
I took this as a (very messy) sign and went off to buy a new can. There goes my FREE makeover.  
And the store (Rona) did not carry it. They carried the brand and every other shade but no ORB.
I took this as a (much cleaner) sign and also decided at this point to go out on a whim and try some COLOUR! I’ve been so inspired by some of the makeovers I’ve seen on blogs and Pinterest where people take old pieces and redo them in a bright colour. They make such a statement and I’ve always envied how brave people are for doing them. So, I decided to take the plunge!
And I decided Sally would be blue.
Here she is at the salon in the garage getting sprayed.
Now, back to the part earlier where I mentioned I had something in mind for updating the tray. I’ve had this makeover on my mind for a few months and while in Home Depot awhile back I asked the associate in the wallpaper section if I could buy a few sample pieces of their instock wallpaper (knowing it could work for what I had in mind and was the ‘large’ size I’d need). She let me pick a few for FREE. Thanks!
So, I chose these few with the ORB in mind.
But now that Sally was blue the only one that really worked was the dark brown one with the light blue flowers/swirls (second from right). All the others were far too ‘creamy’ and beige for her new punchy blue!
I simply cut it down using the edge of the glass as a guide. Slipping my cuting mat under the edge I was trimming I used my exacto blade to make the cut.
I removed the tape and newspaper masks and popped in the new inlay… and here is the new Sally!
Not bad right? She’s kind of fun and punchy. She brings a smile to my face and I’m proud that I went out of my comfort zone on this one!
The brown in the wallpaper really ties it together with the leather chair.
And the protected ribbon/fabric stayed clean and protected.
The good (and bad) thing about spray paint is it gets into every nook and cranny…
And (side note) this is just something that came to me but thought it funny and had to share. I randomly picked the name Sally when starting this post but now that I see her done… and the colour she is I must laugh. Here is the subconscious mind of a mommy at work. This is currently on replay at my house and I’d like to introduce you to the other Sally in my life… from Disney/Pixar’s “Cars”…
Um.. nice ‘blue’. 

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