I am obsessed with white and gold! So, buying a gold and white filing cabinet seemed like a brilliant idea until I began searching.
Firstly, the prices of a simple plain white filing cabinet weren’t within my budget. Secondly, none of these cabinets had gold accents.
So creating my own within my budget was the best option.
Therefore, if you are considering a filing cabinet makeover including painting your filing cabinet white and adding some gold accent with some metallic gold spray paint then keep on reading because:
- This project is simple and affordable.
- Your filing cabinet makeover will look amazing after you’re done.
- I am sharing a great affordable metallic gold spray that looks like gold plus it’s actually shiny and glossy and a $35 filing cabinet you should probably avoid.
- Plus you don’t want to miss painting tips you really need to know before you start painting your filing cabinet.
How To DIY Gold and White Filing Cabinet Makeover
- Step 1: Purchase a filing cabinet or if you already have one you’re one step ahead
- Step 2: Sandpaper black filing cabinet
- Step 3: Paint black filing cabinet white
- Step 4: Spray paint black plastic filing cabinet handles gold
- Step 5: Add gold handles
- Step 6: Add swivel caster wheels
Step 1: Purchase A Filing Cabinet
I am always looking for a good deal and Walmart is one of the places I usually look for items. Firstly, because there’s of course free shipping when you spent $35 or more.
Plus, the deals you find there are some of the lowest prices you will find anywhere else because Walmart competes by offering the lowest prices on the products and services.
Now, while I usually find the best deals at Walmart I am just not a fan of going instore to search for items. In fact, I highly prefer Walmart online because I really don’t care about spending hours searching for items at Walmart.
Plus, I don’t care for the constant change of items locations and I really don’t care for how similar products are placed in several locations in the store.
Now I get the point. The reason they deliberately do this is to get you to stay at the store longer.
In fact the longer you stay at Walmart the more money you are likely to spend on items you really had no intentions on purchasing in the first place.
Therefore, when you go to Walmart with the intention of just purchasing 2lbs of flour and a bottle of detergent but you leave Walmart with 5 bags of other items you had no intention of purchasing don’t be surprised.
That’s why I like shopping online. It’s a breeze and most importantly I can use ebates for cashback.
$35 Filing Cabinet
Anyway, with all that mambo jumbo I wanted a filing cabinet to keep things a little more organized but my budget was $50 and I wanted a white filing cabinet with gold handles.
After searching around online and looking at the prices I quickly realized my budget was inadequate and gold handles were just out of the question unless I purchased a white cabinet and painted the handles gold.
So, I decided if I was going to paint the handles gold I might as well find a cheap filing cabinet to DIY.
Fortunately, I found a black filing cabinet priced at $35 at Walmart for my DIY gold and white filing cabinet makeover project.
Yes, only $35 for a wooden black filing cabinet. A steal right? Well not so much. In fact, after assembling the filing cabinet it wasn’t the best but I made it work for the project.
When The Price is Too Good To Be True
Now in all fairness, there were more than a few bad reviews but this wasn’t the first time I purchased items from Walmart with bad reviews and there was absolutely nothing wrong with the product I received.
In fact, based on my past experiences I actually lookout for these products because one thing I have noticed the bad reviews usually significantly drop the prices of these products. Which makes these a huge bargain especially when you’re on a tight budget.
However, for this filing cabinet, the reviews were all true. In fact, many of the reviews complained about the drawers being crooked and they were absolutely right – I now own a filing cabinet with crooked drawers.
If you quickly look at the pictures below you will notice crooked bottom drawer. Plus the top drawer doesn’t completely close all the way without you forcing it to.
Unfortunately, I realized all of this once the filing cabinet was put together which took me hours because the directions weren’t clear enough.
Now I was considering returning it but, the thought of bringing it to the store and starting from scratch just wasn’t appealing. So for $35 it will do with all things considered.
You may be wondering what the heck was I expecting anyway! Yes, I know I definitely got what I paid for and frankly, I wasn’t really disappointed because this filing cabinet is a temporary solution.
However, I won’t recommend this filing cabinet to anyone at all especially if you are searching for a long-term filing solution.
Finding a Decent Cheap Filing Cabinet
Finding a decent cheap filing cabinet isn’t easy. After, my Walmart experience, I highly recommend you consider the bad reviews in your buying decisions even if you are looking for a deal.
This black wooden filing cabinet can still be purchased through Walmart and a few other places online. However, due to my experience, I didn’t link it.
Nevertheless, if you are still interested in this $35 filing cabinet, search for “black wooden filing cabinet 2 drawer $35” you should find it.
Overall, if you already have a filing cabinet you like but you just want to try this filing cabinet makeover then this whole process will be a breeze.
Step 2: Sandpaper Black Filing Cabinet
If your filing cabinet has a glossy or shiny laminated coat on the surface sandpapering is a must before painting. I tried painting this filing cabinet without removing the laminated coat by sandpapering and the paint separated no matter how many times I layered it.
Therefore before you start painting, remove the laminated coat by sandpapering, use a damped cloth to remove the dust residue left behind due to sandpapering then allow the surface to dry completely.
Step 3: Paint Black Filing Cabinet White
Painting is fairly easy – just grab your paint, painting brush or painting roller and get to work.
What Type of Paint To Use?
Firstly, I highly recommend using paint containing primer, because mixing the right proportion of paint and primer is best left to the professionals unless you really want to experiment.
Furthermore, a white gloss or white semi-gloss paint works great for these types of projects because it makes cleaning the surface easier.
I had some white semi-gloss paint leftover from another project so I didn’t have to buy paint for this project which was great.
Is a Painting Roller Better than a Brush?
You can use either a painting roller or a brush to paint the filing cabinet. However, the painting roller will get the job done quicker, but you will probably want a small painting brush or a painting roller to complete the edges comfortably.
In contrast, if you decide to only use brushes then ensure the bristles are firm and smooth for a nice finish. You definitely want to avoid cheap brushes with rough bristles.
For this project, I purchased some cheap printing brushes from Amazon and boy that was a mistake. The bristles were rough and thin, however, in the end, it worked out but I will never repurchase them.
How To Paint After Sandpapering
In general, painting preferably in the same direction you sandpapered can help you achieve great results.
As for me, I sandpapered in many directions but painted in one direction. However, in the end, the results weren’t disappointing.
Therefore, if for some reason you sandpapered in many directions don’t worry about it. However, moving forward, you definitely want to paint in one direction to achieve a nice smooth finish.
There’s Still Paint Separation After Sandpapering So What Do I Do?
Even after sandpapering the paint still separated in a few areas – that was definitely annoying. However, it wasn’t as severe as when I first painted the filing cabinet without sandpapering.
Thus, to avoid paint separation you really want to sandpaper thoroughly. My guess is I failed at sandpapering thoroughly.
However, since the paint separation wasn’t severe layering the paint a little more in those areas really helped.
If your paint separation is severe your best bet is to wipe the paint off, sandpaper again (this time thoroughly) then repaint.
How To Layer The Paint
Besides dealing with the paint separation, layering the paint is essential since the cabinet is black.
For instance, the first coat of paint wasn’t enough at all neither was the second coat. So I continue layering the paint until I was completely satisfied with the outcome.
Therefore, if you’re using a black filing cabinet add one layer or coat of paint then allow the paint to dry completely before adding the other layer. As a matter of fact, allow the paint to dry completely before adding another layer for a smooth finish for every layer of paint.
Step 4: Spray Paint Black Plastic Filing Cabinet Handles Metallic Gold
To complete the cabinet the black plastic filing cabinet handles were spray painted metallic gold with metallic gold spray paint.
This metallic gold spray paint actually looks gold. Plus, the spray paint in metallic gold is shiny and glossy so the cabinet handles look great.
If you are looking for a metallic gold spray paint give this one a try. It looks like gold, it’s shiny, it’s glossy and it’s cheap.
Step 5: Add Metallic Gold Cabinet Handles
I quickly added the metallic gold cabinet handles to the drawers easily using my handy dandy Black and Decker Cordless Drill. I couldn’t complete any of my home decor projects without this drill.
Overall, it’s really an amazing drill and it’s so much better than an ordinary screwdriver. I purchase it about five years ago and my hands don’t regret it! Plus it works like it’s new.
If you purchase a lot of furniture you have to assemble on your own then this is a must – it will save you time and will take the pressure off your hands.
After, purchasing this drill, I rarely use a screwdriver.
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Step 6: Add Wheels To The Wheel-Less Filing Cabinet
Using the Black and Decker Cordless Drill I added four swivel caster wheels to the wheel-less filing cabinet.
While adding the wheel wasn’t a must it definitely makes moving the filing cabinet way easier.
In fact, if you also want to add some wheels to your wooden cabinet I definitely recommend these.
DIY Gold and White Filing Cabinet Makeover Completed
My DIY Gold and white filing cabinet makeover project completed and it’s not bad at all. However, the drawers are crooked but for what it’s worth it serves its purpose so I am satisfied.
