Cornwell tool cart restoration

[Snarf]

About 4 months ago I was scrolling offer up for any good deals on tool boxes & so happen to come across a Cornwell tool cart CTBMM700 for the low low price of $50. As you can imagine it was in very very rough shape. The paint was very beaten up, it was dull burned & faded. Someone tried to repaint it red with spray paint & didn't bother to mask anything off. The casters were practically seized, the struts were bent not holding much pressure & the drawers looked misaligned. Even with all that I still decided to pick it up. The sheet metal looked good, there wasn't any huge dents & well it was a Cornwell box for $50!
Here it is when I picked it up...

 

[jd_1138]

Looks like someone tried to do a faux finish. Yuck. But great price. Looking forward to seeing it brought back.

 

[Unruh]

Yeah, that should be a fun project.

 

[Ohmthis]

Hell yeah! I would have picked it up too. I like those type of carts. Post a bunch of pictures for us.

 

[Snarf]

Hell yeah! I would have picked it up too. I like those type of carts. Post a bunch of pictures for us.

Ill try to get as many as I can, Im very forgetful when I get into in these projects


A little update I got to see the Cornwell truck today and picked up a fresh new Cornwell badge and a new barrel lock total was $55. Cost more then the box lol

 

[Snarf]

I pulled the drawers out and realized the paint inside of the box was in ok condition & to my surprise the color is orange. The drawer sliders are ball bearing so I went ahead and greased them up and aligned the sliders. The drawers on the slider rails weren’t completely locked in place. I went ahead and removed all the drawer handles and black side moldings. They are full of red spray paint so I will start removing it with a plastic brush and acetone to not damage the plastic.

Stayed a little late today at work and got down to the nitty gritty of sanding down the box in preparation for paint. I used a 320 grit sand paper & a pneumatic palm sander to scuff it up pretty nice I put in about 2hours of sanding.

 

[Snarf]

My buddy came by and shot the tool box today in Orange. I think it came out pretty good!





Also I needed some casters these had some flat spots. So I called up corwell and they told me I needed to purchase them because they weren’t under their warranty... that *****.
Luckily my co-worker has just replaced his craftsman casters with some quieter ones and he gave me his for free. They fit just perfect and look nice too.


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[rmsg0040]

Nice progress

 

[Ohmthis]

Hell Yeah! I’m digging the orange. I had a mid 80’s mustang GT that I painted orange. That car stood out amongst most cars. Great job on the box!!!im ready to see it full of tools.......OR shipped to my house. I’ll leave you the address!

 

[Snarf]

Alright so I spent the last day and a half putting it all back together. I went ahead and picked up some stronger struts to be able to support the weight on the lid if I decided to put magnetic socket trays. It did take alot of elbow grease to get rid of the the red paint on the aluminum handles and black corner bumpers.
I did the math all in all the box project came out to be less then $150 including box price which may I add was $50. On to the pictures.

Before...


After...

 

[wiens80]

That came out awesome!


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[jwsia]

Great Job

 

[Gears_call]

Looks awesome! A fine investment of $150 I’d say


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[Jayman17]

Gorgeous! Looks brand new. Nice job.

Jay

 

[SuperCat]

Fantastic! Just like new. You earned that box the old fashioned way, you worked for it.
I guess I have to say it - You ****!

 

[Unruh]

Great work! That is a striking difference!

 

[4Kings]

Could you tell me what orange you used.

Great looking rehab

 

[Jeff590]

Wow - that looks awesome

 

[thr3squared]

Awesome restoration! Looks brand new!

Just curious- did you have to repaint the inside of the cabinet and drawers too, or was that paint in good shape?

 

[Hammer1963]

Fabulous looking and great deal!

 

[orangeblood]

very good work!

 

[larryq]

Outstanding paint job. Your buddy had an HVLP gun I assume, this wasn't a bunch of rattle cans, that's for sure.

 

[M6erfan]

Nice!

 

[LXCam]

Nice flipping job bud, that turned out killer.

 

[Wamsutta]

WOW! That looks fantastic!

 

[BolognaBlake]

Looks great!!!

 

[afazz]

Beautiful work! I’m also curious what type of paint you used.

 

[Fedwrench]

That is an outstanding job!!!!

A $995 box for under $200 is also a sweet deal

 

[ZRX61]

Snarf = GOAMer?

 

[Snarf]

Thank you guys I appreciate the comments. Now to load it with tools!


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[Snarf]

Awesome restoration! Looks brand new!

Just curious- did you have to repaint the inside of the cabinet and drawers too, or was that paint in good shape?

No the paint in the inside was ok, the outside was the bad part of the box.

 

[Snarf]

Outstanding paint job. Your buddy had an HVLP gun I assume, this wasn't a bunch of rattle cans, that's for sure.

Yea he painted it with his expensive guns, he paints helicopters for a living.

 

[Snarf]

Could you tell me what orange you used.

Great looking rehab

Beautiful work! I’m also curious what type of paint you used.

The color is Sherwin-Williams L2007. My buddy paints helicopters at his job and it’s an orange from there

 

[rharman]

Very nice. I was going to ask about the helo's.

Need a pic with the top open.

 

[Bluejoe]

Hello That box looks great.