How NOT To Get Cheap, Easy, White Coral Decor

It's Spring Break! So this week I've decided to dig up some of my favorite tutorials, horror-stories, and remodels from the archives to share again with you. Enjoy!

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This is the story of a great DIY project idea. Gone bad.

Somewhere out in blogland I read about getting a coral look-alike for way cheap at the pet store. So the last time we were there with Barley, I snuck off to grab the first aquarium coral I could find.

Tom (skeptical): "What are you going to do with that? We don't have a fish tank."
Me: "It's for decor."
Tom (raises eyebrows): "Decor? It's plastic red fake coral."
Me: "I know. I'm gonna paint it white."
Tom: "How much is it?"
Me: "6 bucks."
Tom: "Umm... why don't you put it back."
Me: "No, it'll look good! Really. You pay like, 30$ for these things in stores. I'll spray paint it white, and in the end we'll have a really cool white coral piece for like 7 bucks, instead of 30."
Tom: "Ummm..."
Me: "Really. It'll look GREAT once I'm done with it. It'll be EASY. AND we'll save money this way."
Tom: "Oh, alright. If you're sure..."

I think you all can guess how the coral project went, huh?

How NOT To Get Cheap, Easy, White Coral Decor

1) Don't buy a red plastic coral piece from the pet store.

2) Don't use primer. Skip directly to the spray paint.

3) Don't get frustrated at the uneven coverage, and decide to spray very heavily into the cracks and crevices.

4) Don't do 5-6 coats and then give up because the coral still isn't completely white.

5) Don't give in, drive to Lowe's and purchase spray paint primer.

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6) Don't do another 2 coats of primer, followed by 2 additional coats of paint.

End Result (after roundabouts 10 coats of paint):

It actually turned out pretty impressive, I think. Although honestly, in the future I think I might spring for the $30 piece of coral that's already white, because spray painting something like this was not fun. Or easy. 10+ coats of paint is not cool. Not. Cool.

But shhh, don't tell Tom that.

So what about you guys? Have you ever embarked upon a project that was doomed for failure? Did you stubbornly keep trucking, even though you thought it was hopeless? Did you end up surprised with your result? Ever spray painted something that was just not fun? We'd love to hear your stories - both triumphs and failures. Spill the beans!

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