Magazine rack

Breathe new life into an old magazine rack by adding a pop of colour with Resene testpots.

Resene upcycling for good with Sarah Herring - Project 71

You will need

• Wooden magazine rack or similar item
• Resene testpot brushes
• Painters masking tape
• Resene testpots in your choice of colours; Sarah used Resene Wax Flower and Resene Kamikaze
• Resene Aquaclear Natural in flat finish (optional)

Top tip: Sometimes pieces like magazine racks have a lot of moving parts. It pays to think carefully about where you apply your paint to furniture or homeware. If you are applying paint to faces that will meet, use Resene Lustacryl instead of Resene testpot paint.

Instructions

How to upcycle an old magazine rack:

Step one:  Sarah found this cool old magazine rack at her local Salvation Army family store and could see that it would benefit from a pop of colour to update it just a bit.

First clean thoroughly to prep it for painting. Some timber items may need sanding but this can be difficult with a folding item such as this. If the original timber is in good condition, a good clean is usually all it needs. If the surface is especially smooth, you can apply Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer to help the topcoats stick.

Step two:  Add some pattern and colour to this item by masking out some stripes. Always press your masking tape down firmly to prevent any running paint!

Step three:  Apply the colour.

Sarah chose to paint both the inside and outside of the magazine rack so that there would still be visible colour when it was in use. She chose two complementary Resene colours – Resene Wax Flower and Resene Kamikaze – keeping Resene Wax Flower on one half of the magazine rack and Resene Kamikaze on the other.

Apply two coats of each colour. Paint the top panels also if you wish.

Step four:  (optional) If you wish apply Resene Aquaclear Natural in flat finish over the top of the painted areas for a matte finish. For a higher sheen finish you could apply Resene Aquaclear in a semi-gloss or gloss finish.