Our Generation Diner Repainted

I am very excited to share one of our latest projects with you!  It all started when I did a review on the Seaside Diner vs. the Retro Bite to Eat Diner. The majority of the comments were that OG was the best choice as far as quantity and price, however AG won out on color.  Well, guess what?!  Now you can have the best of both worlds if you just add a little paint!  The first person who painted the OG diner was All Dolled Up.  So naturally, I reached out to her!  I called her up and she gave me all the details on how she painted her OG diner.  She said as soon as she brought it home she was already taking it apart!  The colors were that bad!  I have to admit, I didn’t like the colors either, but for almost a year now I have been holding out to see what AG was going to bring to the table.  So, some of the tips below are from me and my experience, and some are from All Dolled Up.  She has had hers painted for a much longer time than me and hers is holding up strong with active doll play!  See hers below.

Materials Needed:

1. Spray Paint.  Rust-oleum is my favorite paint.  It dries quick and hasn’t chipped yet on all the plastics I have sprayed it too!  You will notice in the video I used a different brad for some of the colors and that’s only because I already had it on hand.  Rust-oleum is always my first pick.
2. Painters Tape
3. Tiny Screw Driver
4. Model Paint if you can get your hands on it and it comes in the color you want. There seems to be more colors to choose from online.  Amazon has pink!

You know what’s funny about the OG diner though?  The outside of the diner colors are silver (to replicate chrome I’m sure) blue and pink!  They started good!  Even the table top Juke Box follow that color scheme.  I don’t know what happened when the designer got to the floor!

Tips:

• Be patient!  If you don’t have time to take it apart and leave it that way for one to two days, then don’t start the project.  It’s best to do this project over two days to paint evenly, stay focused, and let the plastic fully dry.
• I did use spray paint, but the model paint is NOT coming off.  I have no worries about my black EVER chipping!  It’s that awesome!  I would have gotten model paint in every color, but my craft store didn’t have the colors I was looking for so I went with what I had on hand.
• If you use model paint over spray paint, there really is no need to worry about chipping.  It does NOT come off!  If I could do this project over again, i would use model paint for everything!
• For the pink and blue accent tiles I used acrylic craft paint and then a clear model paint over it.  Those bad boys are not chipping ever!
• Do the colors you want!  This is yours!  You don’t have to do the AG color scheme, although I think it’s adorable.  Google 50’s diners and get ideas there!
• Don’t clip the wires for the light or juke box unless you know what you are doing. ? It is possible to repaint everything while keeping the wires in place.  It takes a little more care, but doable!
• Add foam board the the outside of the diner if you need the area closed in.  This gives wall to work with and decorate 50’s style! Plus, the window looks better if it’s on an actual ‘wall’.
• If you want a checkered look like All Dolled Up, cut sticker paper into squares.  She covered the black ones with sticker paper and then spray painted the floors white.  So when she removed the sticker paper she had black & white checkered floor!
• Watch the video!

Here is the craft paint I used for the tiles.  The clear model paint I used over these is THIS ONE.

Check out the Seaside Diner side by side with the newly repainted Bite to Eat Diner!  What do you think?  Leave a comment below!

Watch & give this project a thumbs up!