We were given this super cute little buggy by a sweet friend! It is so adorable and perfect for our little trips to the end of the street to check the mail! Why ride in a boring old stroller when you can 'drive' this! It even has a compartment for the mail or other treasures! Well, as you can see it is pink, a pretty pink, but I don't have a pink loving little girl. I have a rough and tough, ready to tumble, all boy, boy. Pink just won't do for my little tough guy! But hey, no problem! Nothing a can of spray paint and an afternoon can't fix! HOW TO DO IT
First, gather all the supplies you are gonna need.
- Towels to wash and dry the toy
- Spray paint: Krylon Fusion for Plastics
- Plastic grocery bags
- Small amount of painter's tape
- Rubber or plastic gloves
- Strong adhesive, gorilla glue or E6000 type
- Screwdriver
STEP ONE: THE PREP
Ok, I know you are going to want to skip the prep work but it is SO important in any project to do all the prep work. It will make your life so much easier if you just do all the prep. You can do the work before and be finished when you are finished, or you can spend hours after you are 'finished' trying to fix stuff because you didn't prep! Prep people, prep! 
So, now that you have been sternly lectured and are ready to prep, you want to find a nice outdoor space to work in. First, you want to wash your toy well, remove all dirt and debris. You might want to take a magic eraser to any scuff marks to make sure they don't show through your paint job. After washing and drying the toy, you want to remove or cover any decals or stickers. As this was a well loved toy that was outside, the stickers were very very easy to remove. I just slowly peeled them and they came right off. I used a strip of painter's tape to hold all my stickers until after painting, so they wouldn't get lost. 
Next, time to cover all the parts you don't want painted! This is where the grocery bags and painter's tape come in. For smaller parts and areas, a little painter's tape is perfect. For larger areas, like the wheels, steering wheel, the trunk, and handle, grocery bags are perfect. Just make sure there are no holes in your bags first! You can easily stretch the bag to tightly cover the area, allowing you to get paint everywhere but the covered area. Once the bag is on there the way you want, just pull and twist the leftover plastic and make a knot. 
Now, we need to remove the safety straps. This is also a great opportunity to check and make sure the screws and hardware are not rusted, if so, replace the parts when you re-assemble the toy!!! Just unscrew the straps and set them aside for now. Ok, you should now be ready to paint! STEP TWO: PAINT!
Make sure you read the manufacturers instructions and warnings on the spray paint! It will tell you how best to spray the paint and how far away you should hold the can. Holding the can too close or in one spot too long will definitely make it run! Painting on the grass is easiest, just make sure the grass is dry so it doesn't stick to the toy as you paint. You can also use a garbage bag or painter's drop cloth! Wear gloves to protect your skin from the paint.
Painting this big buggy was tricky and it definitely did not come out perfect. My best advice is to just paint in even strokes, at the proper distance. Be patient with it, it bonds in 2 minutes so adding more coats is quick. Also, don't expect miracles, if the toy was scratched deeply or scuffed from use, it is not going to cover those evenly. The paint is dry after one hour, although it does say it will take about 7 days to be completely bonded and not scratch off.STEP THREE: REASSEMBLY
After about an hour, it should be completely dry to the touch. I did have a problem with it scratching off in a few places as I was moving it to the deck for reassembly. So I had to repaint those little areas. So I guess we will have to be careful with it for the next week and see if it really is scratch resistant after 7 days.
Now, we need to remove all the bags and painter's tape. Screw the safety straps back in and finally, re-stick our stickers! I used E6000 glue for mine. You definitely want a strong bonding glue. It was pretty easy to cover the back with glue and stick it into the grooves. I set them even better than the manufacturer too, thank you very much. You would think they could get their own stickers on straight! Oh, and if your toy needs replacement stickers or safety hardware, they are usually available from the manufacture's website, or by calling them! Well, that is it, our cute little buggy got a makeover. All it cost me was a can of spray paint and an afternoon outside! All in all, I am really happy with the paint job! It definitely isn't the most perfect paint job, but hey, I'm not a great painter! We will see how well the paint holds up against wear and tear! At least now we will be riding around the block in style!
