A Southern Girl's Guide to DC: DIY Project

This weekend I scored a great hope chest from Carroll Creek Antiques, Etc. in Frederick, MD for only $42. I knew the chest would need some work, so after purchasing the chest I headed to the Home Depot to pick up some supplies. I picked up a sanding sponge for $3, contact paper for $7 and clear gloss lacquer spray for $5.

Outside: Before

Inside: Before

I started by cleaning the inside and outside of the chest with mild soap and water. I highly suggest this for anything you pick up at an antique store because you never know how long it's been on display in the store and you never know how long it was sitting in an attic or basement before that.

Starting to clean with mild soap and water

You can see how dirty it was! I made sure to lay down a towel before starting the cleaning process.

Halfway there!

Once I finished cleaning it up, I sanded all of the wood and pulled off as much of the paper from the inside of the chest as I could. I also sanded a few rust spots off of the metal parts.

Next I started to measure and cut the contact paper to put inside of the chest.

Then I placed the contact paper into the chest and smoothed it out with a piece of thick paper.

Finished bottom

Then I started to paper the walls and edges

After that was completed, I began on the top. At the end, I went back and filled in all of the edges and spots that I missed.

Next, it was time to spray it with the Rust-Oleum clear gloss spray lacquer. I sprayed one coat and let it dry overnight. Then I sprayed another coat and let it dry over the next day. It was very easy to do, I just followed the directions on the can, which were to spray evenly over the product (wood, metal, etc.) and then let it dry for a full 24 hours. It suggests using at least two coats.