Wednesday, August 05, 2015

Feeling Hot....Enough To Make An Air Conditioner



I am always in awe of the creativity of Pepper, Brae and Elizabeth.  They are so creative and I often just sit there and think, one day maybe I can be that creative.  So.....I gave it a shot!

The room box continues to grow in its production value.  A little of this, a little of that and now I'm making an air conditioner for the roof top.


The Goods

Where do you think I started? Why of course! The dollar shop (Dollarama to be exact).  $3 later and I found my victim...or future air conditioning unit.  I either wanted something with fans or louvres.  I found the latter in a night light.


The other items I used were:

  • Tremclad anodized bronze (flat finish) spray paint
  • Tremclad gloss black spray paint
  • Tremclad grey primer spray paint
  • Testors flat rust paint
  • Testors flat brass paint
  • Testors flat aluminum paint
  • Plastic ribbed tubing from the air pump for an exercise ball
  • Plastic packing bits from Miss Kitty's new play kitchen
  • Metal washers
  • Thumb tacks/push pins
  • Finishing pins 
  • Quick set glue


Break It Down

I unscrewed the nightlight and took the electronic bits out.  Then I used pliers and pried off the metal plug prongs.  This left me with 3 pieces, the top (with the louvres), the bottom and a plastic plate in the middle (that goes under the louvres).

I spray painted them all with grey primer and then used the anodized bronze on the top and bottom pieces and the gloss black on the middle plate.

Below are pictures of the night light.  






Build It Up

I reassembled the night light fully painted.  The louvres no longer moved because the paint put them in a fixed position, but I had placed them at the angle I wanted before.

The night light didn't really come with a convincing "base" that looked like an air conditioner, so I grabbed some scrap wood pieces and built a little box for it to sit on. It too was painted anodized bronze.

Air conditioners have pipes, most often copper pipes, feeding into it.  And some Google image sleuthing of industrial air conditioners showed some larger pipes, hence the ribbed plastic tubing I used.  The "pipes" were all spray primed.  I didn't have copper Testors paint, but I figured brass + rust paint = close enough.  They sat on metal washers that I sprayed gloss black and "rusted." 

The ribbed plastic tube was painted flat aluminum.  But getting it to hold in place with just glue seemed impossible just looking at the tubes bending properties.  Solution? Push pins/thumb tacks.  I drilled a tiny hole into the air conditioner and into the roof.  I cut the pin short on the roof side so it wouldn't go through the ceiling.  I filled the ends of the "pipe" with quick set glue and placed them over the thumb tacks.


The wood base has rivets which are actually finishing pins.  The labels were the Google result of "industrial warning labels" that I shrunk down in Word.  The "Bryant" label actually worked nicely with the lines of the unit.

I then "rusted" everything with paint.  But not too rusted.

The Final Product












So there you have it!  An air conditioner from a night light.  I like it.  And I even took pictures of it outside which actually made my photography editing less of a headache!

Cheers!




28 comments :

  1. Fantastic!!! *claps furiously* This is a wonderfully creative transformation. I often find myself wandering around the dollar store just looking for inspiration. :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Brae. Your level of realism is always inspiring. When you "rusted" your bathtub my eyes were opened to rust paint and I was dying to find a project to rust for myself!

      Delete
  2. One day you could be creative?? You're already creative Lady! The air conditioning unit is just inspired - it looks fantastic *joins Brae with the applause*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Pepper. Your metal water feature and Brae's bathtub has started a serious metallic paint addiction!

      Delete
  3. Brilliant! What a great idea and so well executed!

    ReplyDelete
  4. BRAVO!!!!!! This is SUPERB Kat!!! :D I am totally inspired by your little A/C unit. It looks Realer than Real, to me and I have to say that YOU and what you do, ROCK! :D

    elizabeth :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Elizabeth! As I boil today with the heat outside I truly appreciate the wonders of AC

      Delete
  5. Wow, wow, wow! That is so creative AND realistic! I just found your blog and love your projects.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is really cool! Pun intended, of course. Dollar stores are a wonderful source of materials and inspiration. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The mini and the dollar store addiction merged into one can be a powerful force to reckon with! Lol.

      Delete
  7. You nailed it! The labels and the rust are just so spot on. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had some much fun with the labels. Getting the right ones was the best part of the projects

      Delete
  8. What a fantastic job you did here! Wish I was as good with paint as you are... ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marion, you are a constant source of inspiration for me! If you could only hear all my swearing as I paint!

      Delete
  9. I already thought you were creative, and this just adds to my opinion =)
    Great work!
    Hannah

    ReplyDelete
  10. Que gran idea, ha quedado fantástico.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think you're very creative, as this smartypants-project shows! It looks amazing, and I love the detailing of the signs and labels, always brings it more realism. Job well done, I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  12. ps: very smart solution with the thumb tacks! *thumbs up*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd like to say it was my brilliant mind, but they were actually at eye level on a shelf when I was thinking about what would work. Then I had the 'ah ha' moment

      Delete
  13. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  14. It is truly amazing what a little creativity can do. We also have to consider all the fantastic materials that are available on the market today, especially rust paint. Within a few minutes something new can be made to look old and rusted. Knowing exactly what you want to do when you begin your project, definitely adds to your overall success. Keep on carrying out your intentions.

    Levi Eslinger @ Capital Plumbing

    ReplyDelete