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Old, rusty, scratched metal file cabinet

2003

My Dad gave me an old metal file cabinent. The paint is mostly gone (a bit of rust all over) and there are several scratches and small dents. I do NOT want a simple spray-painted cabinet. I would like to "finish" it in a way where scratches and small dents are not too obvious - I would like to make it look antique. I like the "antique look" or the possibility of using modge podge to attach photos (or copies of photos). I also don't know if it needs to be primed (sanded, etc) before I do anything. I'd appreciate any advice.

Thanks!

M. Miller
Aerospace Medicine - Houston, Texas

I recently saw this done and was going to try it myself: sand it and glue anaglypta ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] (heavily embossed wallpaper) to the front and sides, using contact cement. Trim the ragged edges nice and neat. Color doesn't matter because after it dries, paint it with a latex primer. Let dry, then paint with two or three coats of latex paint. At this point I thought it might be interesting to use white or beige as a base paint and overpaint with brown and wipe it off the patterns high spots. I'm not sure what type of sealer to use on top of that. I'll probably put a piece of glass on top of mine.

Ellen Lawrence
Industrial Supplier - Athens, Alabama
2003

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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I once painted a file cabinet beige, then wiped it with translucent brown antiquing solution, then finished it with a few delicate gold & brown floral decals. That was 30 years ago, and any chips or minor rusting since have had almost no effect on the overall look.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey