Just Plain Resourceful!
Happy Wednesday All! It’s been a bit since I’ve had a DIY-project post, doesn’t mean I haven’t been working, just too many projects going at once! Well my husband and I, on the spur of a moment, decided to buy a used jeep on craigslist and make it over!
Come on Barbie, Lets go Party!
All we could find were Barbie Jeeps or just girly ones that just wouldn’t work for our three and a half year old son to drive, nor do we want to have very girly things for our daughter. So we bought a semi-decent used Barbie jeep on craigslist, bought some spray paint, new tires and hood clips… and away the project went!
Steps to Success~
First you must take the jeep apart, remove all stickers, and give it a good scrub down!
After all your Jeep is disassembled and clean you should sand it down. If you don’t sand it down make sure you do plenty of coats of paint, or purchase a little handy plastic prep solution to wipe down all the pieces with prior to painting.
BEST PAINT: The best paint to use for the project is what is pictured below or Krylon!
Picasso… or something like that…
Next you’ll want to do a light dusting with your base coat of paint.
Then after about 20 minutes you’ll want to go over it with a good solid coat. When painting with spray paint, make sure not to just hold the sprayer down and go over and over. You want to spray back and forth or up and down and release the sprayer after you’ve reached the end of you piece.
You’ll want that good coat to dry and give your pieces another light sanding. Remove all dust from the sanding and give your pieces another good coat of paint. Note* If you are going to do any details like we did on the hood, paint your first color over the entire piece with all the steps, then go and tape off the sections you don’t want painted and proceed to paint the second color.
After you’ve done your two solid coats of paint you will want to go over the pieces with two clear coats with a couple hours of drying time in between.
After painting has completely dried you can re-assemble your pieces. Just make sure if you’re not confident in how things go back together, you separate pieces by sections of the power wheel.
With my design background I decided to make all new decals myself for the jeep, complete with a personalized plate! I had these printed at a local sign company for $25. They are outdoor grade complete with laminate.
Voila!
Here is the finished jeep! Don’t it look great!! Not to boyish and not girly~
Breakdown of costs~
Jeep: $50.00
Wheels: $23.00 (with shipping $42.00… kid of crazy)
Paint: $36.00
Clear Coat: $12.00
Decals: $25.00
Total for a custom – One of a kind Jeep: $165.00 And had we not needed wheels (they were completely cracked) Price: $123.00
Cost for a brand new Jeep: $289.00