I hesitated in posting this project on my blog because it is not within my normal realm of refinishing furniture. It is, however, a very sentimental story and you know how I’m a sucker for sentimentality! A wonderful client of mine asked me to refinish her childhood tricycle so that she could give it to her granddaughter for her birthday. I don’t normally work on metal or with spraypaint, but decided to give it a go at her (gentle) insistence.
The tricycle is so stinkin’ cute! The seat and the handle grips were going to remain as-is (with a gentle cleaning), and the pedals were replaced by wooden blocks years ago by my client’s father. Those were certainly staying too! The original brand label was also still visible, so I decided to tape it off to add more of that vintage charm. The trick to this project (ok, there were a few) was to blend the old with the new.
The original tricycle was painted red, white, and blue, and my client asked if it was possible to recreate the original look. I started by giving all the metal surfaces a coat of rust converter. It takes a rusted surface and makes it a hard, paintable surface.
I chose a flat finish for the paint colors in an effort to blend the old with the new, as I thought too shiny just wouldn’t look right. I also selected an off-white to blend a little better with the original seat. Once I finished painting, I covered all of the metal surfaces with a clear matte topcoat.
I’m so excited about how this finished project turned out! Ride on sweet granddaughter!
