Make a painting and finishing cart for your shop

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One thing Ive noticed about the workflow in my shop is that setting up for finishing or painting can mean a lot of walking back and forth. For a paint job, I will grab a few acrylics and take them to my workbench. Then I need to get brushes, rags, water, waxed paper for mixing colors. I thought it would be nice to have most of these supplies in one portable cart that I could wheel wherever needed.
Shelves on 2 sidesI have always found that things tend to get lost in deep shelves. It seems that what you are looking for is in the back! So I designed this work cart with shelves and doors on two sides, allowing for shallow shelves on one side and shelves a little deeper on the other. I arranged them to suit me: sized for brushes, spray cans, quart and pint sized cans, and thinners.
If you make this project, figure out what you want to store and modify the plans accordingly. You could, of course, install adjustable shelving. Personally, I am not a fan of adjustable shelves because once I set them it seems I never bother to adjust them again.
My cart will be stored next to a utility sink, so I used a piece of melamine for the top so I can easily wipe off liquids. In the plans, I included the top in the cut list as part of the 3/4" plywood needed for the project. If you wanted to save some money, I see no reason why you couldnt use 1/2" ply for the entire project. Its not meant to be carrying heavy loads.
Download free plans
  • WWMM Painting and finishing cart (PDF)
  • SketchUp file
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