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Painted toolboxes

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Krenfro88

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Sep 10, 2016
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This has been brought up a few times according to the search but not recently.

Looking at upgrading to the HF 56" box, but hate the red lol. So, I'm debating stripping it down, sanding it, wiping, acetone it, then shooting it with some rattle can and rattle can clear. Worried the paint won't hold up that great, but I don't have a compressor to handle shooting it that way.

Just curious who has done it, what your results were, and definitely post any pictures you wanna show of the process!
 
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Bill Bowman

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I surely would not "strip" the factory finish, assuming it's not flaking off or blistering. IMHO, that's the best surface to refinish on. Scuff thoroughly with a scotch pad, feather any chips/scratches, and go for it. As far as rattle can finish, I have no experience as far as how it will hold up.
 
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astroracer

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I see Bill and I are of the same mind... :)
Don't strip it... Waste of time. The powder coat that is on it is a perfect base for new paint.
Scrub it very well with a gray ScotchBrite pad. Wipe it down with a good degreaser. PrepSol, B-4, PreKleano, etc. They are designed for this job, acetone isn't.
Use an epoxy type primer and put on a couple of light coats followed by one heavier wet coat. If you get the primer to lay down smooth you can usually top coat with no sanding. Choose your primer color to complement your topcoat color. Lighter top coat? Lighter primer. Requires less topcoat to cover. :)
Any top coat you want to use will work over the epoxy. I have found Rustoleum's "Hammered" finishes to be very durable, once they are cured. It takes a couple of days but they harden up nicely.
Warm all of your rattle cans in hot water before spraying. Helps with gloss and flow out.
 
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archirelic

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Another thing to consider...is after all of the prep work to paint this box, cost of materials to paint it, etc. how much money will you be out?

If you have more time than money and have a readily available supply of paint, etc. then this might be a great option.

But after weighing the cost of your time plus materials...I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to shop around for a 56" box or equivalent in a color close to what you'd prefer.

Strictly toolboxes offers some killer boxes at killer prices in colors much more pleasing than red.

Just some food for thought.
 
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Toothaker

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How about painting the cabinet and leaving the drawers in red? For example, paint the cabinet gray like the Craftsman chests of yesteryear. You avoid a lot of tedious detail work that way.
 
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Krenfro88

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I thought about this too. I'm probably at 1200 for a 56" TV and 2k for a new snapon 54...just juggling at what point is worth it to me
 
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1982fxr

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whatever makes ya happy but personally...it sounds like a terrible idea and a waste of time. To each his own. I say pick up a couple extra shifts at work or try to use the time you would spend doing that to pull in some more cash and just get a Snap-on or other top level box and be done with it. jmho.
 
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Krenfro88

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1982fxr said:
whatever makes ya happy but personally...it sounds like a terrible idea and a waste of time. To each his own. I say pick up a couple extra shifts at work or try to use the time you would spend doing that to pull in some more cash and just get a Snap-on or other top level box and be done with it. jmho.
Click to expand...

Salaried. Compensated well, but still salaried.
 
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Dr.JohnnyFever

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FJ 432 said:
Painting a box is a lot of work. Consider vinyl wrap.
Click to expand...


Very much agree! Even the tool cart was more work than it was worth.

When I got the 56" set, I thought about painting it, but came to my senses. Then I looked for wraps, but finally decided red would just have to be ok.




cart_zpst79xjdox.jpg
 
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tonyciambrone

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buy one of the new Husky boxes. same mfg as the Milwaukee box, really good deal, already finished matte blac.

I cut an old craftsman box in half, made a welding cart, stripped it and refinished it. It turned out great, however, I can't recommend NOT doing that enough, especially on a toolbox 3 times its size. It was a PITA
 
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