I found this great article on restoring or transforming your worn out cornhole set on the website for “An Organized Season”. I wanted to post and share this with you as it is good reading for the Corn hole community. The link to the original article is can be found here. Please enjoy the article on restoring your cornhole boards or set for Do It Yourself or DIY Cornhole Board restore.
Does your family love to play cornhole? If so, your set might need an update! I’m excited to show you the steps I used to transform our ugly, worn-out cornhole set. Now it looks brand new and is ready for outdoor fun!
Want to see what it looked like before I gave it a makeover?
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Here you go!
We’ve had this set for many years, and as you can see, it is completely worn out.
A lot of people would probably throw it in the trash, but not me.
You know I love a good DIY project, and this one was a bit of a challenge since I had to break out the sewing machine for the cornhole bags.
It was worth it because this before and after turned out wonderful!
I’m so excited to show you the steps I used to transform our worn-out cornhole set!
STEPS TO TRANSFORM CORNHOLE BOARDS
Wow! This is what my cornhole set looks like now!
What a difference some elbow grease and paint can make!!
Here are the items I used to make this transformation happen!
GATHER
- two wooden cornhole boards
- hand sander
- mask
- ear protection
- plastic sheet
- tack cloth
- 2 cans spray paint/primer-I used Rustoleum 2X Ultra CoverPaint Plus Primer in flat white
- 3 colors of paint -I used Sherwin Williams Pure White (base color), Wall Street (paint #1), & Black Magic (paint #2)
- stir sticks
- painters tape
- paintbrush(s)
- lacquer_I used Annie Sloan Lacquer
- foam brush
- sandpaper
- protective paper/cardboard
PREP
Our cornhole set was in terrible shape. Normally, I would not clean something before sanding it. But in this case, I had to get all the spiders and their webs off of it before I started!!
I used a vacuum to remove all the spiders and cobwebs. It was so disgusting!
After it was cleaned, I laid the boards upside down on a plastic sheet.
Next came the fun part! I had to sand all of the old paint off of the boards! It was not hard, but it took a lot longer than I thought it would!
One down, one to go!
REPAIR
If any part of your cornhole board is broken, now is the time to make repairs!
I don’t know if you can tell from the picture, but one board is sitting an inch lower than the other board. That’s because the corner is broken and the screws in the legs have come loose.
Rich had to fix the corner that had come apart. He used a clamp and super glue to squeeze the corner wood back together. He then shot a couple of brad nails in from each side for good measure. Sorry, he forgot to take a before picture! Then he replaced the old hardware with new bolts and washers.
PRIME
It’s important to prime your boards before you paint them!
First, clean both boards with a tack cloth to remove all of the dust from sanding. There was a lot of dust that needed to be removed!!
Be sure to lay down a protective covering on the floor.
Next, turn the boards upside down and elevate them.
Spray paint/primer on the legs and sides of both boards, following manufacturer instructions.
Let dry.
Turn over and spray paint/prime the top of both boards.
Let dry.
This is how far I got with one can of paint/primer.
This is what my boards looked like after two coats of paint/primer.
PAINT
Now it’s time to get creative. You can paint your boards in any design you like. I chose to use three different colors, but you can use as many as you like! I was fortunate to have exterior paint left over from our house. So this part of the project was free! Here are the steps I used to paint and transform my worn-out cornhole set!
Put a protective covering on the floor.
Elevate the boards.
Stir the paint well.
Paint the base color. My base is white.
Let the paint dry.
Now I’m going to add a design to the board. I’ll use painter’s tape to divide the sections.
Measure the board to determine the center of the circle and mark it with a pencil.
Place the left edge of the painter’s tape to the right of the pencil mark and lead it down the board diagonally to the bottom right corner. Make sure the right edge of the tape is touching the bottom right corner.
Next, apply a strip of the painter’s tape to the left side, using the same steps as above.
Apply painter’s tape to the sides of both boards. Check all pieces of the tape to make sure it is pressed down securely.
Paint color #1 onto the top left and right sides of the boards. Barkley is watching to make sure I’m doing it right!!
Paint color #2 in the center triangle section.
Let the paint dry.
Paint the boards one more time to get good coverage.
Very carefully, peel the painter’s tape off of the boards as soon as you finish painting!
Let dry overnight!
PROTECT
Wow!! I’m so thrilled with how the boards turned out! I love the color and the design! To keep them looking this good, we need to protect the paint. I used Annie Sloan Lacquer.
Always remember to wipe the boards with a tack cloth before applying lacquer. Notice in the picture above, there is dust in the right corner.
Apply a thin layer of lacquer with a foam brush.
Let dry.
Clean with a tack cloth.
Apply a second coat of lacquer to each board.
The boards are done and they look great! I can’t wait to use them! Lots of family fun ahead!
Do you have a cornhole set at your house that’s in need of some love and attention? Let me know in the comments below!
Blessings, Donna and Rich
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