$12 Spray Paint Rack Stand

When spray painting it's always nice to have a stand to hang things from. I happened on this stand quite by accident and luck. So I'm going to turn you onto a stand that you can repurpose as a spray paint rack stand that'll cost you only $12 complete.

Now, I'm not a fan of Ikea products normally. I think most they sell is... well, let's be honest, most of it is just junk or novelty items. But that said, like Harbor Freight, mixed in with the junk are some good items that can be used for their intended purpose or be repurposed. This clothes stand is one such item.

I have been looking for something I could use as a spray paint rack stand. And yes, I had looked at various clothes racks and even thought of making one from PVC. But I really didn't want to spend $30-$50 or more on a nice chromed clothes rack just to possibly get paint on it. And PVC on it's own is too flexible.

By shear luck, someone left this Ikea clothes rack stand behind, I presume because it was missing the screws. No biggie in replacing the needed screws and bolts. And once together I realized it was fairly sturdy, yet very light weight. Easy to break down as assembly is only 2 screws and 2 bolts.

The stand in question as mentioned is sold by Ikea. Branded under the name "Mulig" though I have seen it branded under other names. It measures 39 inches wide, only 18 inches deep and is 59.5 inches tall when assembled. It's rated for 44 pound max load weight. Which in my opinion is pretty dang good considering it's bar size and weight. You can pick it up with one hand. Even more appealing is it's cost. Ikea has it listed at $9.99 retail.

The one I have is black, they only show white ones on their site, but it's the same stand.

Here's the link if interested:

Ikea Mulig Clothes Rack

The down side is it doesn't have wheels but for $9.99, who cares! It's very sturdy and doesn't rack from side to side once assembled. It also has a couple welded balls on each end to prevent hangers from sliding off the end which can come in handy if you're using hooks to hold your item being painted.

Here's a picture someone uploaded to the web of it in use...

I can hear you now thinking to yourselves, "But wait a minute Chase, you said the cost was $12 dollars. What's the rest of the cost?"

Simple, add in a $1 at the dollar store for a small roll of Tin Foil or Aluminum foil, which ever your prefer to call it, to cover the stand before using it as a spray paint stand. As you can see below, that's exactly what I did before using it for painting.

The reason I covered mine or any stand I would use should be obvious. I don't want it covered in paint overspray. For two reasons. One, I like my stuff to stay nice. Two, overspray tends to powder off whatever it's on once touched.

Say you didn't cover it, and now it's covered with over spray. You have it hooked on like I did in the first picture. As those hooks move they'll scape off the over spray which will fall right into your project. Even if you just turn the project or the wind blows it a little it'll scrape off the overspray.

For a dollar you can have enough aluminum foil to cover it a couple times. Peel off the foil once it's deemed dirty enough and toss it into the recycle bin. And your stand stays looking new.

Also you can use it to hang things on while they cure. I was so pleased with it after having this steel air tank on it for spraying and seeing how well it held the weight even when turning it, in going to go get another just for such purpose. One for spraying and one for curing.

So there you have it. A $12 dollar spray paint rack stand. One that even if you did get paint on it, it's not going to break the bank.

Stay creative, stay Happy people!
Cheers...