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Revive an old children’s toy with a playful rainbow design

29 Jul 2020

Breathe new life into an old children’s toy with a fun new look using colourful Resene testpots.

You will need:

 

When Sarah found this old doll bed at her local Salvation Army store, it was not in great condition. It had a few screws loose and looked really old and dirty with watermarks on the base.  It’s always a shame to see wooden toys end up on the scrapheap, so Sarah decided to give it a new lease of life with a bright and happy paint job.

Step 1 First, tighten the loose screws and give it a really good clean. Give it a light sanding, then wipe it down with a damp cloth to remove any dust and prepare it for painting.

Step 2 Apply a full coat of Resene Quick Dry primer undercoat using a testpot brush and allow it to dry completely.

Step 3 Apply two coats of your chosen colour – Sarah used Resene Spray – to the whole bed using a testpot brush. Allow each coat to dry completely before applying the next. To speed up the drying process, you can use a hair dryer on a low heat setting.

Step 4 Decide which colours you would like to use for your rainbow. Sarah chose six colours: Resene Gelato, Resene Big Bang, Resene Golden Glow, Resene Retro, Resene Escapade and Resene Bunting.

Step 5 Mark out the shapes of your rainbow in pencil, then carefully hand paint each stripe using a small artist’s brush. Allow your first coat to completely dry and then apply a second coat.

It’s fun to paint freehand and you get a fantastic, imperfect result. Sarah even continued her rainbow threads onto the bedhead and foot too, so that even when blankets go on, you can see the paint effect.

Top tip: If you need to take more time to paint your design and you find the paint is drying a little too fast, use Resene Hot Weather Additive to help slow down the dry time.


Give an old toy new life with a fresh coat of paint and a fun, bright design. This doll’s bed is painted with a base of Resene Spray, the rainbow colours are painted in Resene Gelato, Resene Big Bang, Resene Golden Glow, Resene Retro, Resene Escapade and Resene Bunting.

project and styling Sarah Herring

Published: 29 Jul 2020