Team Colors

Yesterday I posted a tutorial on how to make a wood bench. Today… the reveal of those benches painted in team colors.

With much help from my husband, we made four wood benches from scratch.

We were able to complete the build in one day and I’ve spent the past week prepping, sanding, and painting.

The prep work for any project is the the most important step. Take the time to fill any holes with wood filler, let it dry overnight, and then sand down the excess. Since we used raw wood, I ran the hand sander over every inch of the bench to be sure I was left with a smooth surface to paint.

The benches were first primed with two coats of primer before an interior/exterior black satin enamel paint was applied. Being in a gym, these benches will get lots of wear & tear so I wanted to use an extremely durable paint.

Begin painting any furniture project by turning the piece upside down and painting the underside first. If you don’t, you WILL end up missing areas that you may not be able to see when the piece is upright, but it’s embarrassing when you turn a piece over to load it in a client’s truck only to reveal white primer patches.

To paint the white & blue stripes, I first painted the bench tops white. Then applied Frog Tape where I wanted the two white stripes to appear. I’ve tried other brands of painters tape and Frog Tape is the clear leader.

I then painted the outside edges black and the center between the Frog tape blue.

Tip: Paint a very, very light first coat, overlapping onto the painter’s tape. This will help seal the edges before adding a thicker second coat and prevent the paint from seeping under the tape.