Wheelbarrow Makeover

Yard Sale season is in full swing in this area. Every Friday and Saturday, you can drive around the area and find loads of yard sale signs pointing you this way and that way to sales all over the place.

One Friday, I counted 6 different neighborhoods having yards sales. I was able to make it to four of them. Among the many things I brought home was this old wheelbarrow.

It had a few dents and a fairly new coating of primer on it (probably covering up some rusty spots). But it seemed solid enough when I felt around the tray, banged on it and rolled it around. It was the dark wood handles that caught my eye and the cheap price tag that ultimately sold me.

Mr. LH had a few days off from work (he was in between school sessions) so I asked him to help me fix up the old wheelbarrow. Mr. LH had suggested painting it John Deere Green but I figured if I was going to have this wheelbarrow out on a farm in a few years, I didn't want it to be any color green (except maybe lime green). It may as well be camouflaged! Orange would stand out well, it was Mr. LH's favorite color, we lived in Denver Broncos country and it would go well with those dark brown handles. So we agreed to paint it a bright, glossy orange.

The wheelbarrow disassembled easily and Mr. LH soon had the tray upside down in the middle of the yard.

It's resting on an old pool ladder that was left here by the previous tenants...and an old moving blanket to keep the over-spray off the grass so Turtly doesn't wind up eating paint.

The dark wood had a nice stain and clear coat on it but I wanted more protection. I gave the wood two coats of polyurethane. Now it's smooth, glossy, and hopefully more protected from wear and tear and the elements (though we don't plan to store the wheelbarrow outside).

The hardware didn't look bad at all but while the orange paint was drying, Mr. LH decided to give the bolts a quick spray with some "hammered" silver paint.

He punched holes in the tape of a box seam and pushed the bolts (and washers) into it so only the tops were showing. Then he sprayed a light first coat, waited about 30 minutes and sprayed a 2nd coat.

Just as we were nearing the end of our project and Mr. LH was getting ready to apply a topcoat to the wheelbarrow tray, dark clouds rolled in. We packed everything into the garage and there it stayed for several days while rain and hail made its' way through the area.

Mr. LH found a couple hours of clear weather here and there and was able to sneak in a couple top coats of clear paint. Finally, two weeks after we began the project, we were able to reassemble the wheelbarrow.