Repurposed Coca Cola Bench From Vintage Cooler

My wife's grandparents had this old 1940's Coca Cola cooler that was rusting away in their barn. They wanted it gone and out of the way, so I decided to make something out of it. After deciding what to do with it, I decided to turn it into a unique bench to go in our game room. I will show you the process and modifications that had to be made to do this. It takes a lot of time, but was well worth it!

For this project you will need quite a few tools and supplies. They are listed below:

Spot weld cutter

Welder

Grinder

Drill

1/4" -20 tap

16g sheet metal

.080 aluminum sheet metal

stainless self tapping screws

1/2" plywood

vinyl

staple gun

scissors

jigsaw

sander or sandpaper

tape measure

rustoleum sunrise red

rustoleum satin clear

rustoleum brown

rustoleum orange

rustoleum flat black

rustoleum gloss white

coffee grounds

course salt

water

spray bottle

air gun

The first step is to remove the front panel, and move it down to the bottom. This will set the seating surface height. For this step, you will use your spot weld removal bit. There are several spot welds on the backside of this panel that you will use the bit to cut out. Once, they are all removed, the panel will be loose, and it can be moved down. The top edge of the panel was pretty beat up. I wanted to keep a patina look to this project so I did not worry about perfectly straight panels, but did get the big dents out. This required a block of wood and a ball peen handle to reshape the top radius edge. Once the panel is straight, I then straightened the flange along the side of the cabinet with some sheet metal seamers/clamps to give me a surface to spot weld the front panel back to. Once you have the flanges bent straight, then just place the panel, clamp it, and spot weld it. I have attached several pictures that will show the spot welds, the flange, and the panel after being moved down to the bottom.

There was one main area on the bottom edge of the cooler that was really bad with rust. I cut out the bad area, and used some 16g steel sheet metal to make a patch. I do not have real specific instructions here as patch panel making is all different depending on where and could be an instructable by itself. On this particular one i rolled to match the radius and turned a small lip on bottom to match that edge. Once it is close, you can hand tune it. All that is left is to weld it in place, and using a flap disc, sand it all smooth to blend it in.

In this step I made some slats out of 16g sheet metal to work to hold up the seating surface of the bench. These parts I sheared, then used a hand brake to turn down a short lip on each side for added strength. The ends I notched so that they would sit flush with the top of the front panel. They were then welded on top of the front panel, and an existing ledge on the back panel.

There were several holes used for drains, etc that I patched to make a smooth surface. I also scanned over the entire cooler for cracks or rips in the sheet metal that needed to be fixed. I took small pieces of sheet metal to patch the holes, and spot welded the rips and cracks. I then used a flap disc on a grinder again to smooth all of the repairs back out.

There are four feet pads that were on the bottom of the cooler already. However, one of them was rotted all the way off. I made a replacement using 1/4" flat bar, then drilled and tapped a 1/4"-20 hole in each foot pad so I could thread in adjustable levelers. I used a combination of a press brake, and hand forming to make the replacement part.

To make the upholstery panels, I used 1/2 plywood. This made up the back, sides, and the bottom seat. To do this step, you just need to measure the area on the cooler, and transfer those measurements to the plywood and cut out using a saw. I will say it is smart to subtract 1/4" from the measurement to allow for vinyl material thickness. I used a table saw for this. On the side panels, they are radiused at the front, so I did use a jig saw to cut the radius and a hand sander to smooth it out. You also will need to nail some spacer blocks on the bottom of these panels. There is a lip on the top edge you will see in the photos, so the spacer block will keep the panel from caving in at the bottom due to the difference.

The next step is to wrap the panels in the vinyl. I chose a 4 way stretch vinyl that is easier to use when wrapping corners. It has 1/4" backing to add a little cushion on the side and back. The bottom panel, I added a 4" thick upholstery foam for a cushion before wrapping. It ended up being the perfect amount of support and cushion. When wrapping the panels, I used a hand stapler, with 3/8" long staples. I started on one edge and stapled roughly every 1.5" inches, then stretched the vinyl to the opposite edge and stapled it. This ensures a tight, wrinkle free finish. The corners take a little time, but you just have to trim and fold. Use plenty of staples on the corners to prevent it from detaching. If using a patterned stitch vinyl like me, make sure to line up the pattern to the same height on the panels or the pattern will look off as you look across it.

I used pieces of aluminum flat bar screwed the panels that would catch the top lip of the cooler. This keeps the top of the panels in place. Once the bottom cushion panel goes in, it then traps the bottom of the panels in place so that all panels are locked in. This was the only way to attach them that I could come up with, since there is no access to screw them from the backside.

Now that you have all metal work done, and panels complete and fitting, it is time to prep the cooler for paint. In this step, I sanded down the entire cooler. This let me prep for primer and also revealed bad dings or dents that needed fixed. When a dent was found, I would use Bondo filler and fill and sand until it was blended. I also used some spot primer, and red spray paint while working these areas to check how they were coming out. Once you are happy with the body work, you can move on to the next step.

For this step, I sprayed on two coats of primer. I want to do a faux patina paint job, so I needed to seal the bare metal, and repairs, while giving a good surface to paint on.

I had never done a faux patina paint job before. I decided to practice the technique on an old paint bucket. The technique is as follows: start with spray painting the places you want patina with a brown spray paint. Next, splatter some black and gray spray paint over the same area. Once that dries, spray the surface with water droplets, and mist some orange spray paint from the bottom to add some contrast. Once the paint is dry blow off the water until the area is dry. Next, apply some moistened coffee grounds and course salt to the area. This will add texture to the patina. Once you are happy with the placement of the texture mix, then spray your top coat. When dry, take an air blower to remove the texture mix. This prevents you having to wipe it off which will scratch the top coat. What is left will appear to be a rusty, textured patina.

I was really pleased with the way my practice patina turned out, so I used that exact technique to paint the cooler bench. The attached photos show the progression of steps.

Once you have the cooler bench painted it is time to do the lettering. This step takes a while and just requires a lot of patience. I used a small brush, and some white rustoleum paint. I hand painted all the letters. When you do a light coat, it appears to look like old faded paint. Also, when you come to an area where it is patina, you can omit that area for lettering, which adds to the realism. After lettering, I sprayed it with some satin clear coat to lock in all the layers.

After painting, I decided the edge around the front and top looked unfinished, so I made some trim for it. I just used some thin aluminum sheet metal cut to a 1" strip and attached it using small stainless self tapping screws. It really made a difference. The aluminum moves really easy, so you can just hand form it around the radius front.

We are finally ready to install the upholstered panels and finish this awesome project! Like described in above steps, all you have to do is slip the aluminum clips behind the ledge at the top for the side and back panels. Then just drop the bottom cushion panel into place and all panels are locked in, and the project is complete! It really turned out to be an amazing way to save a vintage piece!