Extreme Hot Pink Furniture Makeover with Glossy Spray Paint
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We are getting our shine on today, friends! I’m so excited to show you the results of this extreme hot pink furniture makeover because it was definitely out of my normal style. This project is the result of the Maker’s Challenge for Furniture Flipping Season 5! The theme for this season is “Make It Shine,” so it’s all about the gloss and metallics. And I definitely made it a challenge for myself.
Today, I’m making over this nightstand that I got on Facebook Marketplace as a set. You may have even checked out the affordable modern furniture flip from a couple of weeks ago with the dresser from this set!
I have an inspiration piece for this project, but I decided to go even brighter with a glossy hot pink & gold look. I can’t wait for you to see the results. I’ve broken this project down into 5 steps: Prep, Build, Prime, Gloss, and Finish.
So let’s get into it. But first, check out my inspiration piece and this outdated nightstand!
Products for This Glossy Hot Pink Furniture Makeover
Surf Prep 3" x 4" Electric Ray (Use Code PRETTYDISTRESSED10 for 10% off your order)
Wagner Flexio 3500 Paint Sprayer (Detail Finish Nozzle)
Prep
As always, the first step in any furniture makeover process is to prep your furniture. This can look different from project to project, but today this consists of cleaning, filling the hardware holes, covering the wood grain, sanding the piece, and removing the base.
Cleaning
To clean today, I used some diluted Simple Green and a scrubby sponge to get off all of the dirt and grim. Don’t forget to rinse with clean water after!
Fill in hardware holes
To achieve my modern look, I definitely needed to get rid of the outdated hardware. I knew I would need to drill new holes, so I used some Dap Plastic Wood to fill the existing hardware holes.
Cover the wood grain
Because I want to smooth finish under the glossy paint, I decided to take the Dap to the wood grain veneer since it was pretty grainy. To do this, apply the wood filler against the grain to get in the nooks and crannies of the grain.
Sanding the Piece
The last step in prepping was to sand down the wood filler and scuff sand the entire piece. Always be sure to wipe it all down after sanding to get rid of the dust.
Removing the base
The trim on the base of the piece had a lot of screws, so I began by removing those with my drill. After getting most of the trim off by unscrewing them, I was left with just two sides. I used my Circular Saw to remove the rest of the base.
Build
I’m going to attempt to recreate the base from my inspiration piece. Unfortunately, I don’t really have a step-by-step process to share with you as I didn’t have a plan going in. I kind of made it up as I went along, and I definitely would make a few tweaks. I’ll do the best I can to share with you what I did this time around.
I started off by measuring the length of all of the wood that I need to cut. I had scrap pieces of wood, so I’m using Pressure Treated 2"x 2s". After measuring, I used my Miter Saw to make the cuts.
Now it’s time to assemble my base. I used my Kreg Jig to make pocket holes on either end of each piece. One difference I would make if I attempted this base again is to get a bigger wood because I only had space for one pocket hole. Typically, I’d like to get two holes on each piece because it’s much easier to work with.
The first pieces were definitely the hardest, but as I started assembling the boxes, it got a little easier. When I’m trying new techniques like this, I like to do it on smaller projects like this nightstand so that I can determine whether or not it’s a good fit for a bigger project.
In the end, this base did turn out the way that I wanted it to, but there were definitely some mistakes along the way. But I kept moving forward! I clamped the base onto the bottom of the nightstand and got it attached.
Prime
Phew…that’s a lot of prep and building! Now it’s time to get our primer on. I’m going to be spraying the primer on with my Wagner Flexio 3500, so I set up my medium popup tent. It’s so easy to set up and this small nightstand will fit in it very nicely.
Right before spraying, though, I made sure to tape off the inside of the drawers and protect them. I also propped the nightstand on painter’s pyramids so that I can get to the base.
I’m using a gray water-based primer because I did a lot of corrective sanding. This piece is also laminate, so I want to make sure I give the spray paint something to adhere to. Having primer is also going to save me from having to use about 5 cans of that hot pink spray paint.
Another thing primer will do for you is show you if there are any imperfections you might have had while you were prepping. I did have some more grain filling to do and found a small split on the side. So I grabbed my Dap Plastic Wood again and filled those imperfections, sanded them, wiped back the dust, and did another coat of primer.
I really love how this primer works in my sprayer. It is super smooth, and that is going to give me a great finish.
Gloss & Shine
It’s finally time for the super fun part. Let’s get our shine on! This hot pink furniture makeover is going to come to life, and I couldn’t wait to see how it was all going to come together.
Right before I went in with the Krylon Colormaxx Mambo Pink, I quickly drilled holes for my new hardware.
I decided to paint the base first. I taped off the top portion of the nightstand and used Krylon Fusion Metallic Gold spray paint.
Once I got the whole base spray painted, I let it dry and then taped it off to protect it from the pink.
Spray painting furniture is pretty similar to using a spray gun, but your stream of paint is going to be way smaller. You still want to make sure you’re overlapping and not globbing on too much paint. One thing I do love about spray paint is how quickly it dries. You only have to wait 1 minute before doing the next coat.
It is a pretty slow process and methodical process. But I’m so happy with how it turned out. I used two cans on this nightstand, so if you’re doing a bigger piece, it will take a few cans of paint and a lot of patience.
Finish
I let everything dry overnight and decided I wanted to add a little bit more metallic shine to my base. So I turned to my tried and true Gold Gilding wax. This product mimics the look of brushed brass better than anything I’ve tried. I didn’t have to cake it on because I already had the spray paint on. I just added a little bit to give it that extra sparkle.
And the final step is going to be adding the gold pulls I got from Lowe’s to complete this shiny hot pink furniture makeover.
Glossy Hot Pink Furniture Reveal!
I know there wasn't a lot of teaching in this video because so much of this process was new to me. I just tried new techniques, had fun, learned some stuff, and really loved the outcome.
Hot pink furniture is definitely not my signature look. Haha. But it’s so fun to try new things and create something with an element of surprise. I hope you love it as much as I do!
Since this project wasn’t very instructive, you can take a look at the YouTube video to see this nightstand come to life.