DIY | Filing Cabinet

So I bought this filing cabinet from the Custard Factory. It was old, tattered and rusty. But I fell in love. I saw potential. And of course, I had no space for, nor a use. I paid £20 for this. 

The initial goal was to put it my room somewhere, so as my room was going to be white furnishings, I decided to paint it white. I went to B&Q and bought some metal paint and sanding paper. 

FYI: Can I just point out that the order in which I will write this DIY is not actually the order I did it in. I figured it out along the way. So some of my pictures might be a bit deceiving. Also, cover your floors. I didn't as we were getting rid of them anyway.


You will need:
- Filing cabinet 
- Metal Paint
- Sanding Paper for Metal
- A Cloth
- Scissors 
- A block for the sanding paper
- And an Assortment of Paint brushes
- Screwdriver
- Good Old (acrylic?) Paint in a colour of your choosing
- Something to clean metal paint off brushes; or like me, you will have to throw them away.

How to DIY:

1. Take the drawers out. Some ass had knocked the metal bits crooked, the bit where the drawers slide into, so it was a nightmare to take out. This is also contributed to my awkward order of painting. I knocked them back into place once the drawers were out. 

2. Start by sanding down the cabinet. If its old, it would most likely be rusty and bumpy, not great for painting over. So smooth it over. It'll still look rusty, but as long as its smooth, its fine. 

3. Wipe off the sanding dust with a wet cloth, and wait for it to dry. 

4. Start painting. Do thin layers. You do not want the paint to drip. Paint as many layers as you feel you need to get the coverage you need. I left the first layer to dry overnight before painting the second. I also didn't bother painting the inside. 

5. While the first layer is drying simply unscrew the handles from the drawers, and keep the screws somewhere safe. Back the handles your desired colour. I just used a copper acrylic paint, and put it to the side to dry. This will need going over, as its fiddly getting all the bits covered without wiping it off with your fingers. 

6. While the handles are drying, paint the drawers. I painted the insides, the front and if I could be bothered, the sides. Basically the bits you can see when its in the cabinet. I only painting one layer for the drawers.

7. Leave everything to dry overnight. So this took 2 nights overall. I didn't want to rush it and ruin it. Plus, I was dead tired after having literally painting all day - my room was being done at the same time! Post up soon.

8. Cut some card for the labels. use the bits you unscrewed, as a guide for the size. 

9. Put everything together! Start by screwing the handles back in, then slip the drawers back in, and finish with the labels.

10. You're done! 

This is just after it was done, with flash.

Here it is in its new home. In Kay's room! As some of you might now from a previous post, we have started selling custom blended beard oils (we make hair oils too, but haven't started selling that online yet), so this filing cabinet holds all our stock; bottles, oils, labels and packaging stuff. 

Of course if you want to add more to it, like printed paper on the drawers, or a painting on the sides, go ahead and do that before reassembling. 

Theres something so satisfying about making something old into something new! 
Have you guys transformed old filing cabinets? Please share!