We love vintage holiday decorations that remind us of our childhood. They bring back so many memories for us. It doesn’t matter if it’s Easter, one of the Patriotic Holidays, Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas…we love to decorate with vintage items.
A friend of our’s was getting rid of her vintage light-up Ghost, Pumpkin and Cat that is made for the outdoors. It’s made out of heavy-duty plastic, stands almost 3 foot tall and used to have a plug-in light that was inserted through the back.
In my before photographs you’ll see that it was dirty, missing some paint, had no light, etc. I love taking before and after photographs of the items I refurbish.
The first thing that I did was give it a good bath with a non-toxic, all-purpose cleaner, water and a sponge. After I got off all of the dirt and grime I towel dried it. You’ll want to let it sit until it’s thoroughly dry!!!
You can go out and buy paint that is made specifically for plastic, but I opted to use general acrylic paints. I didn’t want to re-paint the entire thing. I repainted the pumpking with orange and black paint, the ghost’s tongue, the cat’s eyes and his paw. I used black acrylic paint to do touch-ups on the cat where needed and of course on the pumpkin’s stem and facial features. For the most part, I had to use 2 coats of paint, with 45 minutes of drying time between coats.
Once it was completely dry I hauled it outside on a warm day. I sprayed the front, sides and back with 3 coats of clear acrylic spray sealer in a glossy finish. You’ll want to allow for 1 hour of drying time between coats. Make sure you get into all of the nooks and crannies.
At my local craft store I purchased an electric plug-in light that is made specifically for outdoor holiday items. I paid $4.99 for that. It inserts through the backside of the ghost and will need to be plugged in to light it up. That’s it…done!
This beautiful vintage piece of Halloween yard art almost went to the landfill until I claimed it. These things last for decades and we just love the vintage appeal. You can refurbish those hard plastic light-up holiday items, so don’t throw them away!!! The top 2 photos are the AFTER and the bottom 2 photos are the BEFORE.
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You did a great job. This light up ghost and pumpkin looks new. I am sure everyone will admire it outside.
It looks great, like brand new! Vintage holiday decorations are so neat, we love finding them at garage sales and antique/thrift stores.
I love these blow molds!!! Lucky.
You did a beautiful job of restoring that piece. It looks brand new in the after photo. You are ready for next Halloween.
Wow it looks like new great job. I had no idea that you could bring back a vintage piece like this thanks for sharing these great tips.
What a great treat you got!! Years ago a friend and I would go out on garbage pick up day after holidays. It was get rid of the old and buy new next year. We used to find some real treasures.
You did a great job. It looks like new. Nice job.
That is definitely giving new life to your yard art. Cleaned up very well.