10 of My Favorite Weapons of Choice for DIY Projects

By now, many of you could easily tell a perfect stranger what my favorite colors are, my favorite beverage of choice, and that I call my husband Grunt Labor.

And we’ve only met through the internet.

Most of you could probably whip up a list in under a minute of my favorite weapons – products and tools for DIY projects.

But, just in case you can’t and if you were wondering here is my complete list (at the moment) of my favorite weapons of choice.

Commentaries included.

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 #1 – Spray Paint

Spray paint is most definitely my favorite weapon of choice.  In my opinion, there is nothing that spray paint can’t fix. The average can of spray paint will cost anywhere from $3 – $10 and gives a great bang for your buck. Use it to update lamps in no time, bring a roadside rescue metal cabinet back to life, and update home décor stuck in the 80’s.

Favorite Spray Paint Brand: Rust-Oleum

Hands down, Rust-Oleum has the best coverage when it comes to spray paint and at around $4 a can, its the best bang for your buck. The only thing I have against Rust-Oleum spray paint is that they need more colors. They need a good coral color and a red color that isn’t too apple-y or dark. If someone there could get that ball rolling, I’d greatly appreciate it. Mkay? Thanks.  My favorite Rust-Oleum color is a toss-up between Forest Green (on my barstools) and Metallic Gold (on just about anything that is gold in my house).

#2 – Rust-Oleum Comfort Grip

Speaking of spray-painting, this little gem will make spray painting a cakewalk. The comfort grip fits over the spray nozzle and has a nice little hand grip that you pull to spray paint. No more sore, red pointy fingers, y’all.

 #3 – Duck Tape

You knew it was coming. I’m from the south, and around here duck tape is a staple. It fixes anything. These days, its also making everything a whole lot prettier just like these duck tape curtains and these 20+ duck tape crafts and ideas. My favorite kind of duck tape is…..duh, metallic gold. There are lots of more patterns and colors though.

#4 – HomeRight Finish Max Paint Sprayers

Many of you know of my love for my HomeRight Finish Max paint sprayer. If you would have asked me to paint something with an electric paint sprayer a year ago, I would have adamantly said no.  Things have changed since then. Last fall, I tried out a HomeRight FinishMax Paint Sprayer and fell in love. I thought it would be just like the other sprayers I had tried before – uneven spraying, hard to clean, and gets more paint on the floor than on the furniture. I was wrong about this one. It has totally transformed the way I paint furniture. It gives fine even coats and is simple to clean. I have used it on these navy and gold chests, this French desk makeover, and much more in my furniture makeover gallery. HomeRight has even came out with a new paint sprayer, the Finish Max Pro, and shockingly, it gives an even finer finish than the Finish Max. Either of them are great sprayers. As a bonus, when you own a Finish Max, you also get to take really goofy photos with it, such as the one pictured above.

#5 – Rub ‘N Buff

If I ever meet the person who created Rub ‘N Buff, I will probably be arrested for harassment. I just want to hug them and tell them how much time and money they have saved me and how much fabulous-ness they have brought into my home. Rub ‘N Buff is a type of wax-y finish that comes in 10+ colors ranging from metallic to whites to blacks. It comes in an itty bitty tube and costs around $5 – $10. However, that itty-bitty tube will last for-ev-er (imagine me saying that like the kid in The Sandlot says it). It is great for updating furniture pulls, reviving brass feet, and so much more. You can put it on metal, wood, just about anything. I’ve used it to update my bedroom furniture hardware, on a bar cart, my barstools, on a photo frame, and along the edge of my entry table that you can see here.  Seriously y’all, that one little tube goes a long way. One tube I bought last January has been used on at least five projects and I still have a good bit left. You can find Rub ‘N Buff at Michael’s, Hobby Lobby (use one of their coupons for more money off) and on Amazon.

#6 – Gorilla Glue Epoxy

When I was a teenager, my father sang the praises of Gorilla Glue. At that time, I didn’t care what Gorilla Glue was or what it could do. Instead, I was trying to figure out how I could get money for the weekend out of my tightwad father. Things change though, and I too am now a faithful follower of Gorilla Glue and being a tightwad as well. However, my Gorilla Glue preference is their Epoxy. It can adhere anything to anything – seriously. I used it to make this bamboo mirror.

#7 – FrogTape Painter’s Tape and Shape Tape

Thanks to FrogTape, creating chevron, wave, and scalloped patterns with paint is now a very easy thing to do. You can create a stylish chevron pattern in record time with Shape Tape and spray paint. I also used a combination of standard FrogTape and scalloped shape tape to create faux wall moldings. They were more affordable than real wall moldings, easy to do, and just as chic.

#8 – HomeRight EZTwist PaintStick

When Grunt Labor and I moved into the foreclosure, we were in a mad dash to finish most of the renovations within a two-month timeframe. I scrambled to pick paint colors and ended up not being happy with well, any of them. I put off re-painting for two years because I dreaded the thought of painting walls again. In November, I finally bit the bullet and repainted our entire main living area. Luckily, I had the HomeRight EZTwist PaintStick, which cut the painting time in half. Not only have I repainted the main living area with it, but since January I’ve also painted the guest bedroom, an accent wall, and the master bedroom with this little gem.

#9 – Mod Podge

Mod Podge is a powerful weapon. Its like a glue adhesive that leaves projects with a protective topcoat. I had a side table with a rough top that I just could not sand smooth. My solution was to put pretty wrapping paper over the top of it using Mod Podge. It worked like a charm and turned out cuter than I could have imagined. I’ve also used Mod Podge to create wall art using remnants of an old calendar and its what I used to adhere decorative numbers to dresser drawers. I made an adorable vintage nursery rhyme tissue box cover with it for my daughter’s nursery and used it to make a mongrammed serving tray that was a wedding gift. My favorite Mod Podge is the satin finish.

#10 – Elmer’s ProBond Advanced Glue

This is a new type of glue that just came out. It bonds porous materials to non-porous materials such as wood to metal or ceramic to drywall or glass to wood. And it works. It works amazingly well, y’all. I just used it on an awesome project that I’ll be showing you in a couple of weeks.

That’s all I’ve got, folks. What are your favorite weapons of choice for DIY projects and crafts?

Need more painting tips and advice? These should help you out then:

The Ultimate Guide to Painting Anything – everything about painting furniture, walls and trim in one place.

What Kind of Paint Do I Use on That? – Not sure what kind of paint to use? Read this article then – it walks you through all the types and paint and what to use each for!

Topcoats 101 – when you should use a topcoat on furniture makeovers and when you don’t have to worry about it!

You know you don’t wanna miss any of this crazy.

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