Painting props

[Schuyler]

In an effort to further fill these boards with inane questions I've got one that has me stumped for all you do-it-yourselfers out there.

I've been upgrading my bed of nails, cutting it into two halves for portability and trying to make it look pretty. I've just painted it a nice shade of red that I feel is very pleasant but now I'm worried about scuffing it. It's just basic wall paint. Any tips on what I can coat it with to protect it from its self and the ground. I'm sure scuffed up paint will look much worse than no paint!

[Jim]

Stain won't chip. They make nice deep, colorful stains these days.I would have tried stain.

Too bad you came here AFTER you already painted it!

As far as protecting it from the ground, get those little feet that go on the bottom of chairs to keep them from scuffing the floor. Like these:

http://www.installerstore.com/product.php?productid=1259&cat=127&page=1

Place them all around the perimeter of the base and your bed will actually sit 1/4" off the ground.

[Stephon]

For the nails side of the bed, you could try using either a spray-on poly sealer (which may also give some small measure of rust protection to the nails), or get a brush on sealer, prop up the bed at a 45 degree angle, and pour some of the sealer across the top edge so it runs down the length of the bed.

On the back side you can just brush on the sealer, and use the feet, like Jim suggested; I use the clear, stick-on ones, but the others are going to be more secure.

[Schuyler]

Too bad you came here AFTER you already painted it!

Yes, it was decidedly not one of my brighter moments. I remembered that I should have stained it after painting it, but I figure I might as well work with what I've done now and make the best of it.

[Chad]

I cover my painted props with water based poly-acrylic. I haven't had any issues with the finish chipping off the paint.

Here's a couple examples:

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj193/KeeperofPHI/DSCF5517-1.jpg

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj193/KeeperofPHI/DSCF4568.jpg

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj193/KeeperofPHI/Juggling-Top.jpg

Like mentioned previously though, you can/should put something between the concrete and your pretty props. You can use metal 'buttons' that are designed for chair feet, rubber strips that you can cut from any heavy rubber stock & staple to the under side, or buy you some aluminum strips and cut them any way you choose.

If you want to get really fancy, go to an ATA Case parts website and line the edges of your props with that stuff. It's a tad pricey, but it'll look the nuts and last forever.