Thursday, September 19, 2013

fridge update

in the gloaming, my fridge appears normal.  cluttered as all hell, and the lumpy wall behind is very apparent.  but its a fridge.  it came with the house.  it works.  but dear god is it ugly.

of course whilst perusing the aisles of home depot [this was months ago before i decided i needed to work there - and no, there is no employee discount.  more on that later] i happened upon glossy fridge paint.  well technically gloss moisture-resistant ultra-hard enamel ...po-tay-to, po-tahh-to.  now the internets tells me you can paint a fridge with anything from bright colored house paint to black chalkboard paint.  i just want a not off-white-turned-yellowy fridge thank you very much.

the paint is pretty noxious smelling, and is as runny as whole milk.  not that i really care about the terrible terrible flooring in my kitchen, but i found out the hard way, the paint is also sticky as fuck.  and managed to nearly glue a toe or two to the floor.  so midway through the first coat, i put down some plastic tarps. 
frank of course had to investigate after i cleared all the junk off my fridge
two or three [in some spots] coats later, i left the toxic off-gassing mess that was my fridge and went to bed.  in the morning i peeled off the painters tape id used as edging and threw away the tarp.  lo and behold, i have a white shiny new-looking fridge!  with... yellowed plastic trim still. 
DAMNIT.  i'm not sure how to proceed at this point as theres the tacky chrome edges to contend with, along with the fact that i don't think there is food/water safe paint that adheres to plastic.  ie the inside of the ice and water dispenser.  also, i neglected the strip between the fridge and freezer, but there isnt any plausible way to paint it without taking everything out of the unit and letting that one portion dry overnight.  i dont have time for that shit.  regardless, its a vast improvement, and i repopulated the fridge a day later. 

be forewarned, in severe humidity, i had some magnets stick to the enamel.  not so much that the pulled off the enamel, but they left some iron filings behind, ever so slightly ground into the finish.  i'll deal with that later.  also.. don't get any paint on the fridge gaskets.  the interwebs tells me it may break down the rubber/plastic in unforeseeable ways, but my biggest concern was ..um... gluing the doors shut.  which i may or may not have done.  but that's what rubbing alcohol is for! 

also, some primer spray paint and glossy yellow paint cheered my $8 craig'slist coat rack right up!  [see the first pic for its original stain]

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