My dear sweet husband got me this crib for free...sort of.
I really wanted this one in white.
I sprayed this piece like I do almost all of my pieces. I started by setting up each rail individually, leaning against the rock wall in our backyard. I contemplated this method versus just assembling the crib so it could stand alone. I decided to lay them out this way because I was worried overspray from painting one side of the crib would result in an unsmooth finish. The issue ended up being that the paint stuck to the plastic and was coming up in hunks when I went to flip each side. No bueno! That wouldn't have been an issue if I had used drop cloths instead of plastic. So, assembling the crib ended up being simpler. I didn't actually put it all together...I just put one long screw into each of the sides to keep it standing upright. It worked out just fine.
I had no desire to sand all of those rails, so I used Zinsser's bonding primer in my paint sprayer. However after it was all primed, the finish was rough. =/ Perhaps it was because of the overspray like I was worried about initially. Either way, I ended up having to sand this love forsaken crib. &**&%*%^* That's how I felt about that! I was ridiculously upset with my husband because of all the work this was taking. I enlisted the help of my sweet kiddo to get all the sanding done. It. sucked. bad. I just kept telling myself that it sucks really bad now, but I'll love it when it's finished. Did I mention it was really hot that day and I was 7.5 months pregnant?
After that nightmare was over we hooked it back up in our yard, and I sprayed it white. In hindsight, part of me was wishing that I had chosen a color other than white so it would be more unique considering the amount of work it took. Yet, I was wanting white so it would be gender neutral or go with a change in decor if we do have another bambino.
As far as the type of paint. I just used a latex paint and primer in one. However, I did some research beforehand and it was recommended to use non toxic paint for a crib. No VOC does not equal non toxic, just FYI. I don't remember all th etypes, but I know chalk paint is supposed to be non toxic and safe. There was even a baby paint brand that was super expensive, I'm sure.
Well, I didn't have not toxic paint and I wanted a white crib that day. So, I thought of other options. I ended up finding rail bumpers. These tie or velcro onto the crib rails to protect them from teething babies leaving little bite marks. So, it's a win win. My baby is protected from gnawing off potentially unsafe paint (but really how much would she have to eat for it to actually be harmful?), and it protects my hard work from love bites! I chose this kind that is short because I didn't want it to be super noticeable (some of them were really long/tall), and they tie on so they are more secure. There's a long one for the front and a pair of short ones for the sides. Perfection!
This was a lot of work, so I'd only recommend painting a crib if you have one already that you just want another color, if someone gives you one, or if you want to paint it a unique shade, etc.
So what do you think? Would you paint a crib?
P.S. I swear I had some photos of it laid out in the backyard for paint. I went through ALL of my pictures and I can't find them!!! I'm trying to get better at taking pictures of the process, but that's just not the fun part!!! lol