Altering Your Beloved ATG, Part II

Now that you've prepped your ATG for paint, the third step in this alteration process is to prime and paint your ATG. I recommend applying the primer and then waiting twenty-four hours before painting. Most spray paint cans say they dry more quickly than that, but I want to make sure that I have a nice, strong hold. The ATG will be handled quite a bit, and I don't want to have to worry about the paint wearing off.

1. Prime your ATG. Spray your ATG with the primer. You don't want to get too close to the gun because you risk drips. You want to use a side to side motion to spray the gun. The coverage should be more like a fine mist that will take several passes. Spray one side of the ATG completely, then let the primer dry thoroughly (consult the spray can for the specific drying time). Flip it over and repeat the process on the other side. You can omit this step if you will be using Krylon Fusion or another spray paint formulated for plastic to paint your ATG. (remember that I am using extra Krylon fusion as a primer ~ that is why mine looks black at this point)


2. Paint your ATG. Once you have allowed your ATG to dry thoroughly, you need to repeat the above steps to cover the primer with the paint color you've chosen. Use the same side-to-side misting action to cover the primer on one side of the ATG. Allow to dry thoroughly, and then flip the ATG to spray the other side. Depending on the color you chose & your own personal preference, you may want to add another coat of paint. Once the ATG is completely covered, I'd recommend waiting another 24 hours before continuing on to the next steps.


3. Glitter the ATG. If you LOVE BLING as much as my mom, then you probably added the Krylon glitter spray to your shopping cart. Repeat the steps above to cover the paint color on one side of the ATG with the glitter spray. Allow to dry thoroughly (consult the back of the can for optimal drying time) and then flip over the ATG and repeat the glittering on the other side.


4. Peel the painter's tape off the ATG. Once you're finished painting and all the layers of the paint are completely dry, carefully remove the painter's tape from the ATG. Slow and steady is the way to go here -- you don't want to risk chipping any of the layers of your paint.

4. Reattach the dispenser wheels. Using your phillips head screwdriver, reattach the pieces of the dispenser mechanism that you removed earlier.

Now comes the fun part: step four is to embellish your ATG!
This part is totally personal. It's your ATG, so make it look the way you want it to look!

1. Bling it up! I started embellishing by placing the bling first. I learned my lesson about this the hard way from my own ATG. If you glue the embellishments down first, you might end up with a situation where there are embellishments in the way of where you wanted the lines of bling to go. It's much easier to work around the bling, than it is to work around the embellishments.



2. Add your rub-ons. Rub-ons are nice and sturdy and they'll stick to pretty much anything -- even glass! That makes them perfect for your ATG, since it will be in and out of crop bags, buried under stash on your desk, and basically handled to death. That's what it was designed for, so don't worry!


3. Add any other embellishments. I used some individuals rhinestones to draw more attention to the flower rubons. If you're going to be using some embellishments like that, you can't rely on their adhesive to keep them stuck to your ATG. You need to attach them with some heavy duty adhesive like E6000. Be careful with this step! The E6000 will take up the paint on your ATG, so plan out exactly where you want the embellishments to go & apply the E6000 sparingly to the embellishment -- you absolutely don't want too much adhesive or it will leak out the sides and take up the paint. If some does leak out, be sure to wipe it up immediately.


4. Take a picture! Take a picture of your finished ATG and post it here so we all can see how well it turned out!



5. Enjoy your shiny new ATG!