Projects Modern Masters: Painted Thrift Store Tray

Painted Thrift Store Tray

Disclosure: I was given the MasterClear from Modern Masters to use. All opinions are 100% mine. I only recommend products I use and love. This post contains affiliate links.

You might remember when I posted about painting my front door that I met the wonderful people from Modern Masters paint at Snap! Conference. But, my relationship with them started even before then. Over a year ago, I won four colors of metallic paint in a giveaway. I choose two gold colored paints, an antique bronze and a beautiful sapphire blue. I have been incorporating blues and greens into my kitchen, plus blue happens to be my favorite color, so I knew I would find a use for it at some point!

Painted Tray with Modern Masters Paint by Laura's Crafty Life

I found this really cool metal tray at the thrift store. It wasn’t in the greatest shape, but I knew it would be perfect to corral all the loose odds and ends on my counter – oil bottles, utensil holders and spices.

I started by lightly sanding the tray with my Ryobi Jobplus multi-tool to roughen up the surface.

Then, I sprayed the entire tray with white primer and allowed it to dry.

Using a small paint brush, I started to paint light layers of the sapphire Modern Masters Metallic paint on my tray. My paint is semi-opaque, so it took three light coats to get even coverage. I allowed the paint to dry for 30 minutes in between coats.

Paint Modern Masters Metallic Paint onto metal tray

After one coat:

After two coats:

I allowed the final coat of paint to cure for 24 hours.

I talked to the people at Modern Masters about my tray and how I was having a problem with the paint chipping a little. They recommended that since this was a high use item, that I should cover it with the Modern Masters MasterClear sealer. This will protect the finish from both UV and wear and tear on the tray. This sealer is for both interior and exterior surfaces and is abrasion resistant, water resistant and is non-yellowing. So, if I ever decide to use the tray outdoors, I know it will be protected.

Use Modern Masters MasterClear to protect finish

I painted one coat of the sealer over the entire tray and allowed it to cure for 24 hours before placing my items on the tray.

Use a tray to corral kitchen counter top items

I like that everything on my counter is now contained in one area rather than spread out all over the counter. It makes the counter look much less cluttered to me. Plus, when it comes time to clean I can simply pick up the tray, clean underneath and move it back.

Painted tray to corral items on counter — I love the way the tray turned out. And I really love the blue in my kitchen.

Metal tray after being painted with Modern Masters Metallic Paint

Painted Tray before and after Modern Masters Metallic Paint

One final tip. Be sure to not skip the primer step. My first attempt was a total fail because I did not use any primer. Sanding the surface was not enough. The paint peeled right off the tray!