Unique DIY Vintage Metal Tanker Desk Makeover
Refinishing and upcycling furniture can be beginner-friendly and fun at the same time. This teal metal desk added so much space and funky, eclectic vibe to our home office.
Furniture makeovers are one of our favorite types of DIY projects. Even Good Housekeeping promotes keeping items out of landfills with upcycle ideas. This vintage desk makeover was no exception. From painting a metal tanker desk to ways to cover a scratched top, here are our tips to help you make your dream desk.
Recommended Supplies
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Note: The only supply that you need to redo your tanker desk can be spray paint with a primer built in.
For this desk makeover, we used Rustoleum Gloss Seaside. If you want a darker shade of teal you could try the same paint in Satin Lagoons.
Why choose this spray paint
- We went with this teal spray paint because it was meant to stick to metals and plastics.
- Adding a pop of color to our office space created the creative look we wanted.
Other teal spray paints to consider
- Universal Pearl Sea Mist: Easier squeeze handle.
- Behr Tropics Spray Paint
- Protective Enamel Gloss Light Turquoise
Where Can You Find A Large Metal Desk
You can find these My husband and I found this old metal desk and our local Re-Store (a store that sells used home decor items and profits go toward Habitat for Humanity) for $25.
Tips For Getting Cheap Items
If you don’t have a restore or good thrift store near you? Check out your local Buy-Sell-Trade Groups. Here we provide tips on how to score free or cheap items in Facebook groups and other online marketplaces.
How To Paint A Metal Desk
Before You Begin
Make sure that you have a safe place to work and do not try to rush the process. It is a great idea to work outside, if possible.
Cover the floor with a drop cloth. We sprayed our desk inside our garage near the door opening.
Step 1: Remove The Hardware
Remove hardware and pull out drawers as far as you can or completely take them out if your desk allows.
Step 2: Clean and Lighty Sand
Use an extra fine grit sandpaper to scuff up the metal parts of your desk. Wipe down the entire piece with a deglosser. Let dry and make sure your desk is dust-free.
Step 3: Tape Out Areas
Cover any areas you do not want painted with painter’s tape. For our desk, we put a piece of tape around the metal lip and used a razor blade to cut the extra tape off.
We also chose to add spray paint inside of our drawers. If you are not painting them, you will need to cover the drawers.
Step 4: Paint 2-3 Coats Of Paint
In large sweeping motion, spray back and forth to cover the whole desk surface. Allow for proper drying time in between each layer.
You will need 2-3 coats of spray paint for an even look. Holding the spray paint can 10-16″ from the desk and try to sweep across the desk evenly.
Step 5: Let Paint Cure
Let the paint cure for at least a week before bringing into your house.
Step 6: Add Hardware
Use bin pulls that are the same size as your existing holes. We recently just changed our to these gold pulls to match our new office built-ins.
Add Finishing Touches
To cover all the scratches on the top of the desk, our solution was to use a piece of patterned fabric and add a piece of glass on top.
Our local glass shop had a piece of glass cut and edges beveled to the same size as the top of our desk.
First, we sewed the edges of the fabric to create a clean look. Next, we carefully placed the glass on top of the fabric.
Use double-sided tape in the corners of the fabric. This helped the fabric not slip when placing the glass on.
Painting Tips
- Before spray painting, tape the metal ring around the desk. In addition, drawers need to be removed. It took 2 solid coats of color spray paint meant for glossy surfaces like this spray paint.
- Pull out all drawers and writing surfaces before using spray paint. Make sure the desk is completely dry before pushing back drawers and other parts.
- Spray from a variety of angles. You need to fully coat all parts evenly and go back and forth.
- Don’t rush, this will take some time. Using spray paint with a “squeeze-friendly” handle may help.
- If the valve on your spray paint ever clogs, take it off and clean the clog with mineral spirits.
- If don’t want to use spray paint, you could consider using DIY chalk paint or even chalkboard paint.
Desk Makeover FAQs
Follow us on Pinterest, YouTube or Facebook for more DIY inspiration!
- Fun Desk Makeover Using DIY Chalk Paint
- Easy DIY Corner L-Shaped Desk Idea
- How To Makeover A Fil Cabinet With Contact Paper
Don’t skip over metal items the next time you are at a yard sale. With a little work, you can make any piece of furniture look better. We just love how our vintage metal desk makeover project added to our home decor.
Looks great! The glass top is really smart too. I may have to do that in the future with mine. Those tanker desks are super heavy, but it’s great to have a really sturdy piece of furniture. Thanks for visiting my site!
Thank you for visiting my site. I came across your site when I was trying to find other “diy-ers” like myself. I am new to the blogging world and would love any tips or ideas you may have for someone getting started!
What a great color AND great matching fabric to boot! Can you show a before picture of the desk? It would help show how even a possibly-beat-up looking piece can be made beautiful. What a great makeover!
Hi Nico! Thanks for visiting my site! Unfortunately, we gave this desk a makeover before I decided to give this whole blogging thing a try. I am kicking myself for not taking before pictures of all of my projects. I may come across one on a different computer and if I do, I will be sure to share. Also, the next time I take the glass off to clean, I will take a picture of the top spray painted so you can see how it would not have been a suitable writing surface! Again, thanks for visiting!
This is beautiful!
I love taking old things and making them new! ?
Plus turquoise is my fave color!
Definitely going to tune into your blog now to keep up with your latest projects!
That is a beautiful desk. I LOVE diy projects like this. It’s another passion of mine. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hi Crystal. Thanks for visiting my site and for the nice comments about one of our DIY projects!
That looks amazing. I really love the colour.
Hi Candice! Thanks for visiting our site. We love teal!!! It totally made this DIY project something you couldn’t just buy at the store.
I have a desk that I am making over too. Yours turned out so gorgeous! May I ask how much the glass top cost? Also, what type of glass shop does this? Is it the type that does auto windshields?
Hi Shelia! Thank you for your kind words. I still love this desk (as I sit here right now). The glass was around $65 and the glass was from a local shop that does shower doors and they will even cut glass pieces for frames. I believe the shop mainly focuses on residential projects. Maybe google glass shower doors or residential glass service to see if there is anyone near you. Good luck. I would love to see your finished desk!
That is my favourite colour! I’m so jealous!! 🙂
Wow that desk look great! I love the color too.
Hi Cindy. We love teal! It was a great way to add color to the space. Thanks for visiting The DIY Nuts site!
I have been debating doing teal on a small transportable desk that I am going to use in our RV…I think this just sealed the deal!
I am glad I was able to help! Thanks for visiting our site!
I love this desk. And I love metal desks. Never thought to repaint and cover the top but it looks like a totally new piece. I would love to work on it.
Thanks Marna for the kinds words and for visiting our site!
What an adorable desk! I love the color. A metal desk would add a great unique feature to an office. Great DIY and thanks for sharing! I’ll pin for later.
Hi Skyler! Thanks for visiting our site and for the kind words! We do love our different and creative desk!
Wow! This turned out amazing! And what a great room for the desk as well! It really brightens up the space!
-madi xo
Love this. The color is amazing.
I love the desk! About how many cans of spray paint did you need? Thanks!
Hi Kellie! At most, we used 2 cans of spray paint (especially because we didn’t do the top). I am glad you love our metal desk makeover!
Great idea! How do you attach the fabric to the top of the desk?
Jeanne
Hey Jeanne. Great question. It took a little bit of effort to have one person hold the ends and then the weight of the glass holds the fabric in place. So it is a little bit of a pain to clean if you want to take the glass top off of the desk. I am also able to lift the glass and then just adjust the cloth before putting it down. I hope that helps. We first tried using double-sided tape in the corners and it worked for the first time, but we found it is just easiest to have two people gently place the glass on the fabric and then adjust each side as needed by lifting that side of the class carefully. Thanks for the comment and for liking our DIY teal desk!
Thanks! Do you cut the fabric before putting the glass on or after? It just looks so perfect I can’t imagine mine looking like that.
Yes, I cut first. My desk isn’t perfect, but it is way better than buying a new one!
Were you able to make the drawers quieter? I recently inherited a metal desk at work and it is so loud!
Hi Taylor. I was very lucky with my metal desk. The metal drawers seemed to slide very easily, so mine are on smooth tracks and not very loud. We even did remove them all to spray paint. Maybe check the tracks to see if things are gliding well or even add little cabinet stoppers to see if that helps with the metal desk drawers banging together. Good luck with your metal tanker desk makeover!
Hi! I came across your blog while I was looking for a way to redo my army tanker desk top. I redid the whole think a few years ago and it looked great. The original laminate top was/is in perfect condition, but now I have a HUGE bubble in the middle. I assume the adhesive has dried out. I have tried an iron, but to no avail. May I ask how you got the original laminate off? I’m assuming I’ll have to start from scratch on the top and I think your glass top may be the answer. Can you give me some info on how you started with your top?
thank you so much. I just LOVE my desk. I have mine in my craft room. Got mine at a restore for $20. Can’t beat it.
Hi Rosalind. I did not have a laminate on top of my tanker desk. It was only scratched metal that would have been too bumpy to work on. If you plan on covering the top as we did with glass or Plexi, I wonder if you could just scrap the bubbled part off? I also love my large metal desk and would be very sad if I had to replace it. I hope you find a good solution for your desk.
Wondering if you painted the insides of the drawers or just the faces. We will hopefully be redoing a tanker desk soon!
We did spray the inside of the metal desk drawers. I really made it nice and clean. Just make sure your spray paint completely dries before putting it all back together. Good luck with your project!
I’m painting a metal desk now. We primed it with spray primer and now going to spray color. I read where the paint runs easily and to paint surfaces laying flat but that is impossible. How did y’all keep the paint from running?
Thanks!
Hi Dee. Light multiple coats of spray paint will be your friend. You just have to be careful to not overspray in one area as that is when you get drips. Also, if you are spray painting outside make sure that it is not too humid out. I feel that we run into problems with drips on projects when the weather is not ideal (too hot and humid). Good luck with your desk makeover!
@Erin, thank you, but I live in deep East Texas. We are always humid. Lol ???? I’m sanding now and hoping the sun will stay out to dry as soon as I paint. Hubby primed it for me and also primed the handles. Is it possible to get the primer off or should I paint the handles?
Thank you!!!
Hi Dee. My guess is it would be easiest to just paint the handles. Or we actually replaced ours with just cheap ones from a big box store. However, I am sure you could clean them with a little elbow grease (even a green sponge and dawn soap might scrap off the primer). Good luck in the hot and humid weather!
Did you do any sanding to the painted surface before painting it?
Hi Brett. No, we just cleaned the desk really well and used a deglosser to prep the paint surface. Good luck with your spray painted desk.