Scavenger Chic

Flea Market Flip, DIY Bar Cart

• By Joan
• October 30, 2019
• 13 Comments

Flea Market Flip, DIY Bar Cart

Since I watch the show Flea Market Flip all the time, it may come as no surprise that I saw a bar cart to be as soon as I saw this rusty old metal cart.

If you’ve never seen Flea Market Flip, it’s all about taking flea market finds and transforming them into something great.  They may be a complete upcycle or a more modest paint transformation. No matter what project they’re working on every show seems to include at least one bar cart.

The entire cart was covered with a nice coat of rust.  None of the rust went all the way thru the metal so its severe case of rustitis was certainly fixable.

I started out with a sanding disk on a metal grinder but the sanding disk on my orbital sander was a lot faster.

If you’re attacking any piece with this much rust I would definitely suggest taking it outside and using a face mask.

When clean, use a nice rust inhibiting spray paint.  If you like this color it is Rust-Oleum Oil Rubbed Bronze , it’s a paint and primer in one.

I found some old wood hiding under my deck to make a nice butcher block top.  Cut long enough and wide enough to overlap the sides.

I cut scrap 2×4’s to make a frame for inside the top of the bar cart.  It won’t be seen but it will support the butcher block wood top.

I have to take a moment to thank my neighbor for the 2×4’s, she was kind enough to think of me when she was scrapping her daughter’s bed and about to make a run to the dump.  I have more bed slats somewhere in my future.

Attach the top with wood glue and kreg jig screws.

Screw the 2×4 frame to the top. 

Sand all the splinters off the top and smooth all the rough edges.

I took the bottom drawer out of the rolling cart and  the space is perfect for a DIY wine rack.

With my test bottle, I found the 15″ space fit 4 bottles.

Cut 3 divider pieces long enough to fit your wine bottle with an extra inch or two to give some wiggle room…about 16″.

Cut one more piece the exact width of your drawer space.

If necessary, trim the pieces down so they fit snugly in the drawer space.

Paint as desired, especially if you want a pop of color.

I’m using a semigloss red that used to be the color of my front door.  Since I just repainted the door blue might as well use up my leftovers.

Use a nail gun to attach. 

I found it easiest to find the center of the back board, then find the midway point for each side.

I couldn’t really glue the wine dividers into place without smearing glue all over the place.  New idea…cut a piece of quarter round moulding the width of the drawer.

Turn the cart upside down to glue the quarter round moulding into place.  I used a nice coat of clear gorilla glue then clamped into place until dry.

Once dry, turn the cart right side up and use a nail gun to attach the moulding directly to the wine spacers.  If you don’t have a nail gun just use your glue to attach.  The force of a  hammer would probably knock the moulding off.

Cut pallet wood to fit the bottom tray.  Hey, it’s free and rustic!

Of course you still have to sand some of that beautiful rusticness off so you can actually use it for food.

Use builders adhesive to attach the bottom pallet wood and the top butcher block to the cart.

Finish all your wood as desired.  Mine got a coat of stain followed by two coats of Watco Danish Oil Wood Finish.

The final before and after of my flea market flip.  Is a bar cart in your future?

Stay inspired.

My updated flea market transformations…  Of course the bar cart, the  shelves made from the desk drawers,  lamps made from the jack stands, a star made from tobacco sticks, whale weathervane from a jack, coffee table from silo doors, and a pair of raised stencil headboards from a free roadside find.  If you want to see all my treasures from the flea market, you can find them here.  

Shared at Salvaged Junk Projects,

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