Park Bench Makeover: Before & After

I finally finished making over the park bench that was gifted to me by my friend, Melissa.  If you missed my post about prepping a bench for a makeover, go ahead and read about it here.

 Behr Honey Bird (Semi-Gloss) & Rustoleum Soft Iron (Flat)

I painted the park bench a bright yellow and I love how bright and happy the bench looks sitting on my porch.  I was torn between a bright yellow or a watermelon red, but bright yellow won.  I picked yellow because I often see red outdoor furniture on my neighbors' porches and I wanted something that equally stood out, but was slightly different.

The only recommendation I have for painting a park bench (in addition to prepping the piece) is remember to prime the wood before painting it.  This is the one and only time that I've skipped primer and I ended up painting seven (yes, as in 7!!!!) coats to entirely cover the natural wood color underneath.  Otherwise, painting the wood slats was very straightforward and re-assembling my bench alone was a breeze.  I also used used Minwax polycrylic over all the wood slats.

Here's a before and after shot:

Can you believe the difference?

Linked to:  http://diyshowoff.com/category/other/that-diy-party/