Chair makeover DIY

I think I got this old school room chair at a second hand store for a couple bucks.

Like, two years ago.

And I finally decided to redo it!

The first thing I did was use a pencil to make a dot towards the top left hand corner. 

Then I drew lines out from that center dot.

I used painters tape to cover the triangles that I wanted to leave wood colored, and covered the rest of the chair with newspaper.

This is VERY important. Taping is like, the main part of this project. Do it wrong, and the whole thing goes kaput. 

Tip: run your nail along the edge of the tape once it's in place. You want it very tight so you get a clean edge!

Then I got out a mask!

This is also VERY important. 

Spray paint is awful awful awful for the lungs.

The primer I used:

After priming!

Then, leaving all the tape on, I sprayed it white.

Tips: spray paint on a non-windy day.

Unlike me.

Uhhh ... yeah. Heh.

Do as I say and not as I do.

Or just do it like I did.

Whatever.

It wasn't that bad.

Just don't stand downwind. ;)

After letting it dry, and still leaving on the old tape, I put more tape over the triangle that I wanted to stay white.

And then for the brightness!

Dear neon yellow spray paint, 

I ain't afraid.

And after letting it dry ... you guessed it.

Cover the sections I wanted to stay yellow.

And spray the blue!

Tip: don't hold the can too close to the chair. Keep the can moving and don't make the layers really thick. If it does get too thick, it will run all over the place making lumps instead of smoothness.

Aaaand after letting it dry again came the scary part!

Removing the tape and hoping it worked!

Tip: have a garbage bag handy. The chair has acquired a lot of newspaper and tape by now. ;)

Ta-da!
At first I was a bit disappointed about the little imperfections (all were caused by my own mistakes, such as not taping well enough or not letting it dry long enough between layers.)

But then ... then I decided that I quite like it just the way it is.
It fits the style of the chair better because the chair has a beat up vintage look, scratched paint and all. So the new colors make it modern and fun, but the little mistakes fit the imperfect chair. 

I'm not a perfecty perfect kind of person anyways. 

Once it's totally dry in a day or so, I'll probably have to cover it in polyurethane to keep it from peeling.

So there you go. Another fun summer project idea!
Got the itch to spray paint anything now? :)

{linking up}