Fisher Price Little Tykes Car DIY Makeover

I hinted at the "upgrade" I was giving Livi's Little Tykes Fisher Price car a few days ago in this post.  My little diva lives in pink and needed a cute ride for her trips up and down the sidewalk.  The hand me down car from big brother was looking a bit faded and worse for the wear and the spray paint for plastic was calling my name.

Here's my quick tutorial, a few fun pictures and my advice if you're going to tackle something like this!

1. Be sure to get painters tape, plenty of newspaper, spray paint intended specifically for plastics (Krylon Fusion for Plastics, Rustoleum and a few specialty brands at Michaels and Hobby Lobby all note clearly that they can be used on plastics).


2. Use the newspaper to tape off and cover the top portion of the car. Also tape off any accent pieces you want to stand out later. I taped off the "grill" the gas cap, the license plate, the tail lights and the bolts on the front.  I also taped the steering wheel and used plastic bags to cover the tires.


3. Turn the car over and spray the "under carriage". I used a silver for this.


4.  Turn the car back right side up and spray the body of the car. Use light even coats and just keep building up for even coverage. I did three light coats to get a solid robin's egg blue for my car.


5. I then lightly covered all but the interior seat area, and sprayed that silver for a little "leather look."  My girl's got style! :)


6. Once everything was dry, really, really dry...I took off key pieces of tape and switched the paper from covering up to covering down. If it's easier just yank the paper and recover the body of the car.  Spray the top and four sides of the top with your top color.


7. Once everything was dry and all the paper was off I could see yellow and red in the cracks. I used a fine paint brush and some craft paint to cover that.


8. Finally I pulled out some great sterling silver craft paint and painted "rims" inside the black tires, painted the front boltcovers, painted the gas cap and tail lights.  I used black craft paint to paint the front grill.


9. Last I did two light coats of Clear UV glossy protectant for plastics (Krylon) to seal it and make sure my hard work lasts!

It was a fun project and just looking at the car and my little girl having so much fun makes me smile.

Now for the pictures!

[slideshow]

My advice: 
Get in there and get your hands dirty! There is nothing like making something for your kids to make you feel like super mom! I turned an old TV stand into a play kitchen (tutorial coming soon), upgraded this car, who knows what's next! Be sure to buy real blue painters tape to be sure you don't pull your paint right off. Also try to tape paper to paper when wrapping your car!

Cost: $15

We had the car---$0

4 cans of spray paint (3 from Hobby Lobby on clearance, 1 regular price from Walmart) - $15