DIY Vintage School Lockers Makeover

Storage is a premium in our house, like with most older homes. Over the years I’ve had to get creative with how we store things, and in general, we’ve also just learned to get rid of anything we’re not using. With a home gym space, you need some storage though. That’s where these vintage school lockers saved the day.

My husband stumbled on these vintage school lockers in someone’s basement one day. He mentioned how cool they were and they guy told him we could have them. Score! For a few years we weren’t exactly sure what we were going to do with them and they eventually ended up in our shed to stay out of the way. Once we started putting together out gym space we knew it was finally their time to shine!

These Vintage School Lockers had a few small surface rust spots, and a few dents, but overall not in bad shape. I knew I needed to tackle the rust either way, and I just wasn’t feeling the red. It wasn’t even a bright fun red, but a more moody red. Simply not my personal vibe, so I decided it was time for a paint job. I knew I could probably spray paint them, but I had a fairly custom color in mind that I knew I wouldn’t find a spray paint to match. I did quite a bit of research and came up with a plan.

If you’re wanting to paint metal lockers to use in your home decor I hope my experience can help! Here’s how I did it

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How to Refinish Old Lockers

I was a little nervous about painting these. Painting metal can be a little unpredictable in my experience. They came out so much better than I even expected! I absolutely love them, and the color was exactly what I had in mind – not white, but not too tan, just enough warmth to feel distinct from our white walls.

Before you paint lockers you want to make sure you’re working in a well ventilated area (or just outside, if you can) and wear a mask

Sanding

I started by removing all rust spots with a sanding sponge. My rust spots were just on the surface, so it was pretty easy to deal with, but if you have deeper rust spots you may want to even pull out a sander to help with them. Once all the rust was removed I did I deep cleaning with TSP cleaner to ensure there wasn’t any other gunk on the surface i might not be able to see.

Priming

For primer, I used Rustoleum Universal Bonding Primer. For primer, spray paint or roll on are both options. Roll-on primers (like Kilz) would be a better choice if you don’t have ideal ventilation. The spray paint was easier for me to get into all the nooks and crannies with, but you definitely want to wear a mask if you’re spraying it on (even outside)! It took me about 3 coats of primer since the red color was so intense!

Then I sanded down the primer to smooth out the finish. This primer especially leaves a lot of grit on the surface, so you definitely won’t want to skip this step if you want your lockers to have a nice finish. After sanding I gave them another cleaning, this time just with soapy water.

Painting

Paint time! I started with brushing the paint on any corners or other tight spots. When brushing on you want to try your best to avoid any drips. Work with a small amount of paint at a time, it goes a long way on a smooth surface like metal.

Then I switched to a roller and used that anywhere I could, since I knew it would give a smoother finish than the brush. I used a roller made for repainting cabinets to get that extra smooth finish, and it definitely helped! I did 2 coats of cut in with the brush and 4 coats of rolled on paint to get the finish and coverage I was looking for.

Paint Color : Lambskin by Benjamin Moore

Other Tips for DIY Painted Lockers:

Use high quality paint! I’m usually a cheap skate, but for a project like this it’s worth the investment.

I saw a lot of people painting vintage school lockers with chalk paint so the paint would stick well. In my experience, as long as you use a good primer, you don’t need to limit yourself to chalk paint. I prefer the smooth glossy look on lockers, and as long as you primer well you can essentially use whatever finish you prefer.

This same process could used on most metal furniture or decor! If the metal is already smooth you can often skip the intense sanding. I usually just stick to a primer and spray paint if I don’t need a custom color.

I spent a little under $100 on paint and supplies. We were able to get our vintage lockers for free, so to me the cost was well worth it. if you’re you’re looking for a cheap project this may not be it. It could get expensive if your upfront cost to buy the lockers is high. Overall, I still consider it a great investment since they’re a really unique piece of decor I know we’ll have for years.

Decor Ideas for Vintage School Lockers

In a Mudroom for quick and easy storage of shoes, coats, hats and scarves. They would be especially fun for kids to decorate their own locker and make personal!
Home gym (like us!) we keep our lighter free weights, jump ropes, yoga mats, and other random bits in ours. It’s nice to keep all of that off the floor so you’re not tripping over things while you work out!
I can totally see repurposing old lockers for some extra kitchen storage. You would need the extra floor space in your kitchen or pantry, but they would feel so unique and fun. They could be a great place to store dry food items, or even cleaning and household products
Me and my sister shared a room as kids and I think we would have loved having a locker in our shared bedroom. It would work especially good if your kids rooms are lacking in closet space anyway.