Repurposing a Crib w/ Paint or Spray Paint Question

So I found a great deal on Craigslist for a white Jenny Lind crib for $50! I am still in search of one more. I've been thinking about painting it a cheery bright yellow. I'm not finding consistent reports on the internet if it is safe to use spray paint or paint on a crib. Has anyone done this? Are there any low VOC or no VOC spray paints out there? I'd prefer to spray paint b/c I hear it is easier and 10x faster! Thanks!

 

Does it have spindles? If so, I think it would be hard to spray paint evenly all the way around each one. My friends' DH painted ours and it did take some time.

 

We didn't paint the cribs, but we ordered some wooden letters for their room, we got them from this website - and we had to paint them the color of the cribs. We just got regular paint and painted them with a brush - my husband did it actually outside, then we let them air for a few days and when we realized the smell was gone, we put them up on the wall - this happened while I was pregnant. I also think painting a crib will be better with a brush, plus spray paint can leak and leave ugly streaks. You need to sand the color that is on now, and then paint it. Maybe you can use a small brush on the spindles, but for the headboard and footboard I think a roller will be best.

 

You can rent a professional paint sprayer which is easier to use (in my opinion, I've done a lot of painting if shutters and what not with one) and typically doesn't streak like it does from a can plus you can get the low voc paint with that and you have far more colors to choose from.

 

I tried to do this with a wooden/metal plant stand I found on Craigslist and WOW - it was a ton of work. I had to sand the old paint, then attempted to spray paint the shelves and spindles. That didn't completely work - lots of dripping paint and it took about twenty cans of paint (no joke). So I bought the same color and used a small roller brush to finish everything. It looks OK, but you can tell that it's been home painted. If I had to do it all over again, I'd spend the money on a new one.

 

I agree that rolling/using a brush is better than spraying. I used to have the old Jenny Lind with the spindles and I can't imagine trying to spray paint those. I wouldn't be as worried about paining now as much the type of paint and the kid eventually chewing it off. Maybe it's all the same or maybe they use a special type of paint. I just know my girls nawed on their crib like a beaver and it's all scraped up.

 

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a no/low VOC spray paint. I spray paint EVERYTHING, so I would definitely recommend going the sprayer route and choosing a no VOC canned paint (Olympic makes a good one).

Spraying can be easy and, in the case of a Jenny Lind crib, would be the best coverage. The trick is to apply suuuper thin and even coats. As in, your first coat will hardly look like much coverage at all. You'll likely need three coats and maybe a fourth touch-up layer. The most important part of spraying is to allow maximum drying time between coats. The paint needs to dry and cure completely. So you *might* get two coats per day, but probably only one. I'd also spray it full assembled to eliminate the flip-to-paint-the-other-side obstacle.

Good luck!!

 

You're s smart Stephanie! And yes I totally agree too!

 

I'm a DIY dork.

 

Thank you ladies for your guidance. My inspiration of the yellow cribs comes from this blog. so cute!

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/nursery-tour-norah-99576

I am going to research more. I'm hearing conflicting reviews about spray paint and I want to make sure it won't harm the babies. I may just cave and paint them myself by hand. We will see.

 

Oh, I LOVE that nursery!!

 

I am no help, but I just got sucked into that blog! Did you see the blocks she made?? Or the magnetic chalkboard tray?!? So neat!

Love the nursery too btw!

 

According to the link:

"Proudest DIY: My proudest DIY would have to be the yellow Jenny Lind style crib! My friend picked it up for me for $5 at a yard sale and it was in really, really bad shape as far as paint. (It appeared to at one time be white and red) I had a pretty little white crib from my son, but I wasn't ready to give up his nap time, so I really wanted another crib. Since I got the crib for so cheap, I figured I'd just paint it, no problem. Well, after 13 plus cans of yellow spray paint, almost as much primer, a nice safe top coat applied by hand twice, and 13 plus hours of my time, the crib was complete! I hated every minute of doing it, (and almost gave up many times) but I am glad I stuck with it. I'm in love with the end result!"

If you're looking for a low VOC top coat, try Acrylacq.

You can do this! And I want before and after pictures!!

 

Stephanie ...there's nothing wrong with a diy dork. SP, good luck!

 

Well ladies, I DID IT!! :banana: I ended up sticking with a no VOC paint and sucked up the hours to paint my dream crib. Now I need to just find a second Jenny Lind crib and do it all over again! LOL I spent all last weekend doing the project. In total it probably took me a total of 6 consecutive hours to do it. I LOVE IT and it was worth it!!

 

Um, picture? Please?

 

How do you insert a picture? When I click on insert image it brings up a http// link.

 

The image needs to be hosted somewhere. If you posted it to your fb, for example, you can copy the http code from the bottom of the facebook page where it says "to share this picture" (or something to that effect). Photobucket, shutterfly, and those sites have something similar.

 

ahhh...well, the nursery is under construction and we don't plan to post on our FB page until it is all done. ;-) When it is done, I will post. I wish this site let you post pictures without having to post it in another area.

 

Twinstuff does have a photo gallery that you are welcome to use. You would click on add new album & upload them to there. Here is a link... photo gallery .