OK Everyone!! I have been fighting with my paints since moving into my smaller Apartment. I like to have my paint where I can see them and have easy access. I made this simple paint panel to hold my paints out of the way and where I can see them. Here is how you can make one yourself if you wish and for less than $20.
$20 Paint Panel
First thing you will need are your supplies. For this project everything was purchased from my local Home Depot (They offer a 10% Military discount for me!!) and everything is Super easy to come by. So on to the list!!
Luan Panel, Hobby Panel.
This can really be ANY type of paneling, I just used Luan because it was the cheapest. its NOT known for its great durability Nor its finish BUT its Light and cheap and will not be a problem for this project. I think I paid $8 for this piece and Its 2X4 foot. I cut it down with my Heavy Hobby knife (see heavy duty utility knife ALSO from Home depot) and then sanded down the rough edge with a block sander. I now have a 2X3 foot piece to work with and a 2X1 piece to use as a base for kick butt terrain project.
"J" Channel
"J" Channel can be either Vinyl or Aluminum and can be found in the siding department. Its made to form some sort of soffet or barrier around your home but for this it will form shelves. I purchased Aluminum because it was there and it was wide enought to hold my paints. this is VERY important to get a "J" deep enough to hold your paints, so do like I did and bring a bottle with you to test. Mine is about an Inch deep and accommodates 99% of my paint. Mine also came in 10 foot length and I bought 2 of them at about $5-6 each.
Stapler
This is a run of the mill electric stapler I have at the house. nothing fancy. This is used to attach your channel to your panel. You also can use screws, nails, Brads or even some sort of glue in a pinch. Whatever you feel will hold the channel with paint on it to the board.
Assembly....
OK well easy is the key word here. I started at the bottom and placed my first piece to the board. I measured the shelf and cut it to fit on the board. As stated My sticks were 10 foot long so I had enought to make 3 shelves with a foot left over to form a "topper Shalf". I dropped the first shelf down to where it would be "hanging off" with only enough on the board to attach it to give me more shelf space. Once in place I stapled it to the panel. I then measured with a paint bottle the height I would need and placed my second shelf and stapled it into place. Follow on with the rest of the shelves ensuring you leave enough space to for your paints to stand up between shelves. And your really done at this point. All you need to do is screw it to the wall. I used Drywall anchors to do this and its very sturdy and secure.
Perfect?? No. I need some way to keep the paints from falling off of the ends as they are open. Also Since I used Aluminum I will need to be careful as it has sharp edges. Other than that I really am fairly happy with it and for the price, Im Very happy with it.
And there you go... a $20 paint shelf and it took me about 20 Mins to build. I hope someone can use this to build there own and improve upon the design.
Till next time, Serve the Emperor well.......
Munkey!
