Lighten Your Work! Brighten Your Home!

COSCO Step Stool Project File (Week 2):

This was hands-down the most frustrating week for what I originally intended to be a "fun" project. I learned a few crucial new lessons:

1) Spray painting is not fun - especially on windy days.

2) It is always best to let the paint set overnight instead of rushing another coat after 10 minutes.

2) It is better to buy several different size screws on one visit to Home Depot instead of making multiple trips for multiple exchanges.

3) A hardware phantom will come to your house overnight and magically reduce the size of machine screws and lug nuts despite your precise measurements.

4) The Washington Redskins are an awful football team at this point in the season.

So, let's go paint...

I used Krylon spray paints for this project because there was a better overall color selection...plus, they are cheap.

I laid down an initial primer coat (above) to prevent any future rusting and to provide a base adherent for the top coat (below).

I selected a nice gloss gray color for the top coat. In between coats of paint I lightly sanded areas of overspray using a fine grit sandpaper and steel wool. I also applied a top clear gloss coat to bring out a high luster for the metal. This turned out to be, in retrospect, not the greatest of ideas. In order to prevent the gray paint from cracking after spraying the sealant, I had to completely remove the glossy sheen first. I, of course, learned this the hard way.

While the paint was drying I worked to buff out the tarnish and rust on the chrome frame. I use a product called Brasso which has been around for 100 years (according to the bottle). I use this regularly around the home and I never cease to be amazed at the results. It also works great when applied to chrome areas on cars and motorcycles.

I discarded the original black rubber feet as you can see in the above photo. One was missing entirely anyway. I'm embarassed to admit that I traveled back and forth between two local Home Depots to find the correct size in black, but was only ever able to find what I needed (3/4) in white.

Lesson 5) It has only been two weeks and I am already annoyed with this project.