DIY Painted Lockers

I have been wanting to repurpose a set of lockers for so long and I was able to snag this set for FREE. I couldn’t believe it when a client of mine was willing to give these away! I hope you are excited to see how I turned these filthy drab gray lockers into a magnificent storage system for my son’s sports themed room.

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Let’s get Started

These lockers were given to me for free so I was willing to put in a little more elbow grease to get them ready to paint. Here is a list of everything that you will need for this project!

What You’ll Need:

• Lockers– Any Shape and Size will Work. Look for secondhand or vintage ones and don’t be turned off by a little bit of dirt and grime.
• Goo-Gone Pro Power – This stuff works so well! Follow the directions listed.
  • Use a flat blade scraper or metal putty knife to help you scrape off the goo.
  • Buy a roll of construction towels for easy clean up.
• Kilz Original Primer– I used the spray can but you can easily roll this on. Make sure it has stain blocking properties.
• Rust-oeum Painters Touch– I chose “Evening Navy” for the main locker color and it was the perfect dark navy/cobalt.
• Rust-oleum Pure Gold– I wanted to add a touch of metallic and I decided to paint the hardware in “Pure Gold”.
• Spray Paint Full Grip Trigger– This trigger makes spray painting so much easier!
• Craft Smart Paint-I used white craft paint to add the numbers to the lockers.
• Number Stencils– I purchased a pack of stencils that had multi-sized stencils. I used the 2″ stencils for this project.
• Miscellaneous Paint Brushes and Sponges– I always have a pack of brushes and sponges on hand and I used a variety of different ones for this project.

Get Preppy

Prepping the lockers is one of the most important steps in this project! As you can tell, these lockers lived a pretty rough life before we got a hold of them. They had multiple layers of stickers, so much dirt and grime, and rust spots from years of wear and tear.

First: I made sure that my lockers were secure and in a position that was easy to work with. I knew that this step would require some TLC and some elbow grease. I found that laying the lockers horizontally gave me the best range of motion.

Second: I removed as many large stickers and pieces of tape that I could before applying the Goo Gone. The Goo Gone will be you best friend for this project! I suggest you follow the directions on the bottle and use a metal scrapper and construction towel to help clean the mess. The removal of all this mess was so satisfying!

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Third: Now that you have removed all of the gunk and grime, you are ready to prime your lockers. My main reason for priming the lockers is to have a nice foundation for my outer coat of paint. Make sure to clean off any residue using Mineral Spirits or soap and water and tape off any areas that you don’t want to be sprayed. I used one can of spray primer and it adequately covered the entire set.

The lockers are now ready to be painted!!! Make sure they are dry and clean before starting your next step.

I’ve Got the Blues

My son’s sports themed room has pops of red and it was just fitting that we used a navy blue color as an accent. I looked at many different shades of blues and I couldn’t imagine how may options I would have. I wanted a darker blue that was still a bit youthful and not dull. I ended up with “Evening Navy” and it’s the perfect color that gives off almost a dark cobolt-ish navy vibe.

At this point my biggest tip would be to have patience. Use a spray trigger, as shown below, to help give you a nice and steady spray. Thinner consistent layers is better than globing it all on at once. Make sure to follow the directions on the can to insure proper drying and curing times.

The Golden Touch

I love a good metallic accent to help bring a piece to life. I decided that spraying the hardware would be the perfect way to add a bit of shine.

BE VERY CAREFUL with this step! Now that your lockers are painted, you want to make sure that they are completely dry before attempting this step.

To insure that my Pure Gold spay paint wasn’t getting everywhere, I decided to make my own paint shield using a trash bag and some painters tape. I secured the shield around each lock and carefully sprayed the hardware.

TIP:

To fix tiny tough mistakes just spray a tiny bit of spray paint into a plastic cap and use a small paint brush to make those edits.

You’re #1

I stenciled on numbers to each locker as a last detail to really drive home the sports theme. There is something about these numbers that make this piece feel a bit more whimsical and youthful.

This step was so easy. I chose a 2″ stencil and used a flat bottom sponge and some paint. I was able to easily stencil on each number. I used a ruler as a spacer and a guide.

Game Time

You are ready to anchor your lockers! Please make sure that you safely secure and properly anchor your lockers to a structural member(s).

After my lockers were anchored and secure, I made a game time decision to finish the lockers with some OSB boards on the top and sides. I decided on OSB because I loved the texture and the contrast that it added to the space.

I am just so obsessed on how these lockers turned out and I hope that you enjoyed my tutorial. Please LIKE, SHARE, PIN, and COMMENT!!!

Check out my INSTAGRAM for more highlights and a behind the scenes look at the process.