For years I have had this little glass front bookcase and it’s been a great versatile piece living in all different rooms of our many homes. This time it is living in my sewing room which is bright and colorful unfortunately in comparison it is feeling a little dull and dated. After years of wear and tear, I’m finally giving this glass front bookcase a rainbow makeover. With the help of Rustoleum spray paint, I’ll show you how I accomplished this fun DIY update.
Materials
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- Craft Paper or other paper for masking
- Mask and Peel
- X-acto knife
- 1/4″ Painters tape (I love this multi-pack)
- Rustoleum 2x Ulta Cover Spray Paint + Primer in gloss colors
- Grape
- Seaside
- Spring Green
- Sun Yellow
- Coral
- Pink
The Plan
I started with the idea of painting a rainbow on glass doors because I wanted this makeover to be colorful. A trip to my local Ace Hardware helped me decide on the color combination, The selection of Rustoleum spray paint was amazing so it took me a while to decide. I narrowed the selection down to the six I thought would give me the best and brightest rainbow.
Using trace paper, I sketched out a series of stripes of varying sizes at a 45-degree angle. Each stripe is spaced a consistent 1/4″ apart but I made them different sizes for more interest. This will be my template for how I lay out my masking tape.
The Prep
I started this project like all my paint projects with a quick sanding of all the surfaces to be painted with 220 grit sandpaper. This is to smooth any rough edges and give the surface a slight roughness for the paint to stick to.
On both sides of the glass, I painted the Mask and Peel. I love this product! It is the consistency of white school glue and is painted on rather thick but dries with a rubbery finish that easily peals off the glass once you are done painting. The plus is it sticks to the wood surfaces like a primer which means you don’t have to be extremely precise when painting it on.
The Body
With the bookcase prepped, I spray-painted the doors, body, and shelves. I chose Spring Greeneally any one of the colors could have been used. I bought three cans of this base color to ensure I had enough. The back wall of my shelf I had painted years ago, I decided to keep it that color so I took that off while I painted the rest and will reinstall it later.
The Stripes
With everything painted the base color, now I could start the rainbow design on the doors. I started by cutting out the section of masking on the back side of the glass where I wanted to paint. I cut the edges with an exact knife and pealed up the masking in these areas. Remember to reverse the angle when masking the opposite door.
Then I used my 1/4″ tape to mask lines between each stipe of color I would be painting. I used my triangle sewing ruler to set my 45-degree angle and keep my lines straight but a traditional ruler could be used as well.
I can now start painting at the top stripe. Using craft paper and painter’s tape I temporarily masked all expose stipes except the first one. I sprayed on the paint for the first stripe until you have good coverage then waited about 10- 15 minutes. Now I moved the masking down one stripe, then painted the second color. I continued painting one stripe at a time until all the stripes were painted.
I can now remove the masking tape. From the back side, the paint will appear to have an ombre effect since we only masked the stripes below but the line will show a crisp solid color on the front side.
With all my painting done, I cut around the frame of the glass with an X-acto knife and removed all the liquid masking. This part is so satisfying!
The Results
Take a glance at the right door with the stripes seen through the glass.
Up close you can see that from the front of the glass the lines are crisp and the color is solid.
Now it was time to get this job complete. I reattached the back panel, rehung the doors, and added hardware.
Now I have a glass front bookcase with a rainbow makeover that fits my colorful style. Are rainbows not your style? Not a problem. This project is it can be done in any style that suits you. Change the color combination or the stripe layout and you have a one-of-a-kind piece that is unique to only you.
If you’d like to follow my projects as they progress I share what I am working on Instagram and usually save the highlights as I go. Or you can just watch reels like the one below to see the process sped up.
