I have been wanting to make over a Little Tikes item for quite some time! Most of the items aren’t my favorite colors and I love a challenge! I set a Craiglist alert for Little Tikes play houses and never really came across any that I wanted to invest in. Either they were still too expensive (in my opinion) or just too worn out.
Lo and behold my old neighbors (they have moved now) set outside an old Little Tikes picnic table in pretty bad shape. I was heading off to work and saw it sitting at the end of their driveway with a free sign attached so I snatched it up quickly and took it home. I was bound and determined to get this thing looking brand new! Operation Little Tikes Picnic Table Makeover was now in order!
The hardest part of the entire project was removing the debris from the picnic table. I’m pretty sure it was paint and had previously been painted at some point. I have no idea what kind paint was used but it was no fun to remove. Parts of it chipped off easily but other parts would not come off! I looked everything up online on how to remove paint from plastic and nothing seemed to work. I even tried to use nail polish remover and let it sit for a few minutes and then wipe it off with a wool pad. That didn’t work either! 🙁
My last ditch effort was to just try and sand it down. I was afraid to do this because it could scratch up the plastic. My first try was with medium corse sand paper and it definitely left marks. I then found the finest sand paper I owned and it actually worked perfectly!! I was ecstatic!! It didn’t remove it all but it got rid of the majority of the excess paint!
The next step was to start spray painting. I used Valspar Premium Finish in Exotic Sea and Everglade Glen, both paints are paint and primer in one and for metal, wood and plastic. My plan was to paint the yellow and pink area with Exotic Sea and the blue areas with the Evergald Glen. I taped off the different areas and started painting. It worked pretty well but it did leak through a little here and there. There are curves between the sections of the table which don’t allow for perfect tape lines. Once it was almost finished I used a piece of card stock paper and held it between the cracks of the table so that I could get a nice clean line between the sections. It worked great!
Once it was all dry I brought the table inside and used a stencil I purchased at Michaels to add polka dots to the top of the table. As I’ve said before when stenciling add the paint to your foam brush or roller and remove most of it by dabbing it on a paper towel. This will ensure that it does not leak through the stencil and creates clean lines. For the polka dots I used a white interior paint I already owned.
I let the polka dots dry over night and I gave the entire table, top and bottom, 2 thin layers of Primer for Plastic by Valspar. I realize the paint was intended to be a primer, but since the spray paint I used was made for plastic, I figured this would be a good top coat to protect the table. It says that the primer increases durability. It is a clear spray paint so it went on nicely and I made sure to thoroughly cover the table for best protection.
I’ve never worked with plastic before so it was a fun learning experience and I’m anxious for Lucy to have many fun memories on this picnic table! I see lots BBQs and outdoor fun in our future! As you can see from the above pictures Lucy is already enjoying it! (It sure was hard to get her to sit still long enough to take a pic! haha)
Have you ever refinished plastic furniture? How did it hold up and were you happy with how it turned out?
Can you believe Summer is half way over?! It makes me sad to think about it so I try not to! I hope everyone is enjoying it so far and having lots of outdoor fun with your friends and family!
Tiffany says
HI, Ruthie ~ Such a cute and fun project! My Little Tykes days are over but one day I’ll have some grandkids running around, so I’m pinning this for {much} later use! :0) Thanks for sharing!
Ruthie says
Thanks, Tiffany! It’s a fun way to spice up an old children’s toy for sure! Great idea for the future for you!
Stephanie @CasaWatkins says
Great makeover Ruthie! Love the polka dots. The color combination is great too. Good for boys and girls. Pinned!!
Ruthie says
Thanks Stephanie! I so wanted to make it pink but I have to remember eventually we will have another kid…and it may not be a girl 🙂
Sydney @Tastefully Frugal says
Oh my gosh I LOVE this table…you did such a great job! Now I want to makeover the little table we just bought at a yard sale. Thanks for the inspiration and the tip for painting with a stencil 🙂
Ruthie says
Thanks Sydney! I’m so glad you like it! I tend to make over almost everything of Lucy’s so that it’s “prettier” in my opinion!
Amanda Dorich says
This is so cute! i love the stencil! I have never refinished something plastic, so I look forward to hearing how it holds up!
Ruthie says
I’ll keep you posted and I hope it holds up too! I did a lot of research! 🙂
Christina says
I’m coming across this post almost two years after you posted it. I’m curious, did the paint hold up? Was it outside and did it withstand the weather? I just acquired an old little tikes play structure I’d like to paint. But I want to make sure the paint doesn’t chip or peel and can withstand the outside.
Ruthie says
Hi Christina! It has held up really nicely. We unfortunately didn’t get it down last summer but the previous summer it was outside the entire time with no scratches! No signs of chipping or peeling. Make sure you get the proper paint that works on plastic. I know there are paints specifically made for Little Tikes stuff but I didn’t get it because I didn’t like the colors. 🙂 Good luck! I’d love to see if you end up redoing it!
Sara says
Wow! So cute and fun! What a great transformation. Lucy is gonna love it!
Ruthie says
Thanks Sara! She is already having a lot of fun with it!
Meredith @ The Palette Muse says
This is so adorable! I have one of these that looks exactly like your before picture, and it’s such an eyesore, I was going to get rid of it. But now I think I’ll paint it instead. Thanks for the great tutorial!
Ruthie says
Yeah I’m glad you are going to keep it! I’d love to see how yours turns out! 🙂
Erlene says
That’s a fantastic makeover and I love the added dots to the top. Super cute!
Ruthie says
Thanks Erlene! I thought the polka dots on top added a nice touch! I love how it turned out!
Georgia @ Silver Spiral Studio says
This is so cute!! Hard to believe it’s the same table. Thanks for your inspiration! 🙂
Ruthie says
Thanks, Georgia! I can’t believe it’s the same table sometimes either!
Ashley says
I love those colors! So cute. I’m glad I saw your link on Thrifty Decor Chick!
Ruthie says
Thank you so much Ashley! I’m so happy with how it turned out! Thanks for stopping by from Thrifty Decor Chick!
Jay @CraftySpices says
We have taken up many DIY projects but never done a little Tikes item. I have to say that your table turned out very nice and I can see how Lucy will be enjoying it for a long time.
Ruthie says
Thank you! She does it enjoy it and I’m so happy with how it turned out! Thanks for stopping by!
Ali says
Super cute and I want to try this with our Little Tykes table we also recently got for free. Quick question first… Do you have to sand it down before applying the spray paint? Ours is paint free and just wondering if we can skip this step. Thanks!1
Ruthie says
I would love to see your final product so please share! Regarding sanding…I probably would do a light coat as it’s such a slippery service to start with. It would probably help the paint adhere to it better. 🙂
Gayle says
hi,
I found this post via Pinterest and just wanted to say thank you for your honesty. It is refreshing to find someone willing to say “yes, some bits were a little tricky”. I have this table in my garden (looking worse for wear). Thanks to your honest and precise description of each step you took, I now feel I can give this a try. Many thanks! 🙂
Ruthie says
Gayle I would love to see how yours turns out! Thanks for reading my blog!
Janell says
Great job! I found this blog googling “redoing plastic craft table top”. I’ve gotten some great tips thanks! How well did the clear coat hold up?
Ruthie says
I’m so glad that you’ve gotten some tips to help you! So far so good! 🙂 Put it inside for winter but it held out just fine through the summer!
Diamond says
Love the table makeover. I picked up a Little Tykes outdoor playset today for free on Craigslist . It doesn’t have all the paint that yours had , but it’s obviously been out in the weather for a long period of time. All of the colors are sun bleached and will obviously need repainting. I may have to borrow my son in laws powerwasher as the scrub brush I used today barely made a dent in the grime and dirt. Great thing is it is still in very solid shape and I foresee many more years of use in it. So glad I found your post on Pinterest ! Love , love , love the color scheme . I have four grandsons ranging in ages of 1-6 and a one grand daughter ( finally LOL ) who is only a few months old. I was thinking about maybe a block theme or numbers and letters stenciled on the outside . What do you think?
Ruthie says
That’s a great idea!! I love the block/number theme! That would be fun! A power washer is a great idea too! I wish I had one at the time I bet that would have helped get the excess paint off! Can’t wait to see your transformation!