We found this Steelcase 2 drawer file cabinet at the ASU surplus warehouse for $20. The Art Moderne/Art Deco handles attracted us to this particular find. Built in the 1950’s, it has a heavier duty construction than most of the other file cabinets on the market today.
To personalize the appearance, we refinished the exterior to give it a more industrial look.
- We removed the hardware accents (nameplates and handles).
- Chemically removed old paint (Jasco paint remover- make sure you follow safety instructions, it does burn if it gets on your skin).
- Sanded surface with orbital sander to reveal bare steel.
- Sprayed gloss black enamel and rubbed with steel wool (rubbed surface to thin film, spraying and rubbing small sections at a time while paint was wet). With this paint process, the black paint goes into the sanding marks to give a varied color and the spot welds in the steel remain visible.
- When it was fully dry, covered with a satin clear coat.
- Put the nameplates and handles back onto the cabinet.
The next step was to add rolling wheels.
The base of the file cabinet is not flush, so we cut a piece of 1/2″ plywood to fit into the recess. The wheels are attached to the board and the board fits into the recess (not permanently attached).
- Bought 4 steel casters from Amazon, at about $4 each.
- Stripped wheels (removed gray powder coat until down to bare steel).
- Used bluing compound (Vans Gun Blue) to “age” the wheels.
- Attached the wheels to the plywood.
- Set the file cabinet onto the wheeled base.
The combination of gloss black enamel with sanded steel left a translucent metallic finish and gave us the industrial look we were after. The rolling casters are an extra detail that add character and make it easier to move. It looks a lot better than the boxes of papers I had sitting around.
How did you remove the name plate at the top and the label carrier on the drawers? I have the same cabinet but the drawer face has a metal sheet that I cannot remove with breaking it.
The name plate is a thin piece of aluminum that is held in place with an 1/8″ fold over tab on each side. To access the tab, I drilled a half inch hole in the box steel behind the nameplate (right before the start of “steelcase”) and used a small screwdriver to lift the tab up and then popped it out.
Hello is this filing cabinet for sale?
Hi Jennifer – The items listed on the site are from our personal use/collection and not for sale. Thanks for stopping by.
Absolutely beautiful cabinet. Great job!
I’m interested in a Steelcase desk that is missing its nameplate. Do you know where you can buy replacements?
Sorry, don’t know where you could buy a replacement. I’m not sure if the desk plate is the same size as the file cabinets, but you can sometimes find old Steelcase file cabinets on craigslist for next to nothing.