Cozy Coupe USPS Mail Truck Makeover
This Little Tikes Cozy Coupe USPS Mail Truck Makeover is the cutest. Read on for easy to follow steps to create your own DIY Cozy Coupe Makeover for your little one and have a blast creating your own Cozy Coupe redo!
There aren’t many things I love more than a good DIY project. Earlier this year I fell in love with how easy it is to breathe new life into kids plastic toys when I created the DIY Plastic Playhouse Makeover! If you haven’t read that post, I want you to stop now and check it out. It has a ton of the best practices for kids plastic toy makeovers.
I’m so excited to share this Little Tikes USPS Cozy Coupe Makeover with all of you. Seriously, how amazing is this?
This adorable USPS Mail Truck Cozy Coupe Redo was actually created by my friend and follow mom, Felicia. She is a 30 year old full-time working mama from New Jersey, and mama to Nolan, 2. She loves finding creative ways to explore and learn!
Cozy Coupe Makeover
I’ll let her share a little bit about her inspiration for this makeover in her own words:
“My son Nolan, who is now two, is obsessed with signs and logos. My husband is a letter carrier, so Nolan sees the USPS logo every day. He started making the connection to the mail truck in our neighborhood. He has a toy mail truck from USPS that he plays with all of the time, which sparked my idea to upcycle a Cozy Coupe into a mail truck for him!”
Seriously, how cute is he with the finished USPS Cozy Coupe Mail Truck??
The traditional Little Tikes Cozy Coupe is cute, but I personally love the idea of creating something new and different. Want to create one for your own little one? Read on for easy step by step directions for this simple DIY Cozy Coupe Makeover.
Note: Some links may be affiliate links. That means I may make a commission if you use my links to purchase, at no extra added cost to you! I only recommend products that I personally love and believe in. Full disclaimer here.
Little Tikes Cozy Coupe Makeover
Supplies You’ll Need to Paint a Plastic Little Tikes Car
Felicia was able to get all of the items she needed to paint her Little Tikes Cozy Coupe from the local hardware store. For the USPS Cozy Coupe Makeover she only need white, silver and red spray paint, a spray primer and a spray sealer.
I’ve linked all of those supplies below on Amazon and Home Depot depending on what’s easier for you! Home Depot will let you easily do in-store pickup of all of these items in just a few hours if you don’t want to wait on shipping.
If you’ve seen my Little Tikes Playhouse Makeover, I used Rustoleum’s 2X line. That plastic playhouse has now been outside exposed to the elements (and toddlers!) for 3 full months, and still looks fantastic! Highly recommend using it too. Whatever spray paint you choose for your plastic playhouse makeover, be sure it’s made for PLASTIC.
Spray Primer x 1 can
Plastic Friendly Spray Paint Colors Used on the Cozy Coupe
2 cans of white (for the body)
1 can of red (tailights and accent pieces)
1 can of silver (headlights)
1 – of red (not that much was used from it)
1 – silver for the headlights
Spray Sealer x 1 cans
Note: it doesn’t really matter what finish or sheen you use. Totally personal preference!
Home Depot: Links to find the primer, white spray paint, red spray paint, spray sealer, drop cloth
Amazon: Links to find the primer, white spray paint, red spray paint, silver spray paint, spray sealer, drop cloth
How to Makeover a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe: Cozy Coupe Makeover Instructions
1. Power Wash and Remove Stickers. You need to first use a power washer (or a strong hose attachment) to remove as much dirt as possible off your Cozy Coupe. A power washer comes in handy for removing those hard to detach stickers. If you don’t have a power washer, you can use a razor blade to gently scrape them off.
Let your Cozy Coupe thoroughly dry. I recommend letting it sit for at least 24 hours after washing.
2. Disassemble the Cozy Coupe. While it might be tempting to skip this step, it’s so much easier to paint any large kids plastic toy when you totally disassemble it!
While you absolutely can paint the wheels if you want, I don’t recommend that you do. The wheels are a high traffic part of the Cozy Coupe, and any paint you apply will just get chipped off from normal play. Felicia left the wheels on hers but covered them with aluminum foil.
3. Prime the Cozy Coupe. Paint your car pieces using a canvas drop cloth. You can absolutely use a layer of cardboard too, but there is a small chance that your painted pieces might stick to the cardboard. Pieces will for sure stick to plastic drop cloths, so avoid those!
Before you spray anything, double check that your spray paint is made for PLASTIC. This is super important for your Cozy Coupe makeover! If you accidentally bought the wrong spray paint, the paint won’t stick to your plastic pieces as well. It might also chip more easily.
I recommend starting with a light dusting on the inside of the cozy coupe pieces, allowing those to try and then flipping and applying 2 light coats of primer to the outside of the Cozy Coupe pieces. No need to sand! Check the directions on your primer and allow your primed pieces to fully dry before applying color.
4. Spray paint the Cozy Coupe. Once your primed pieces are totally dry, paint your Cozy Coupe whatever colors you would like! If you would like to create a USPS Cozy Coupe like Felicia did, you’ll need white, red and silver spray paint. The possibilities are really endless!
Apply two coats of spray paint on each side of every piece. I recommend starting with applying spray paint on the BACK SIDES FIRST, just in case your pieces stick. This way your touch ups before sealing are minimal!
I also recommend spray painting your pieces in a very well-lit area to make sure you don’t miss any coverage.
Make sure you read your spray paint cans for the ideal temperature for painting. Many spray paints will not apply correctly if it’s too cold or too hot outside. If you’re someplace like Atlanta, that gets a ton of pollen this time of year, you’ll also want to avoid painting your Cozy Coupe outside. You can easily paint yours in a garage with the door open for ventilation.
5. Apply your decals. After letting your Cozy Coupe pieces dry for at least 24 hours, apply your pin stripes or decals. I highly recommend you use vinyl pieces for this! Even the best painters tape will peel spray paint, which will create damage you will have to repair.
You can easily create decals or pinstripes using a Cricut or Silhouette. There are also some great listings here on Etsy for cute decals too!
6. Apply sealer. Be sure you let your Cozy Coupe pieces totally dry for 24 hours before sealing. Spray all of the pieces with 2 coats of sealer, both front and back. If you have remaining sealer, put a little extra on the door as it is touched the most.
Be aware that even after all of this, you might need to do a little touch up after reassembling your Cozy Coupe.
Allow the Cozy Coupe to sit for 24 hours after spraying with sealer before reassembling.
You’re all set!
Tips for Painting a Cozy Coupe: How do you paint a Cozy Coupe car?
Here are a few tips that really help when you’re planning your Cozy Coupe Redo:
- Start by cleaning the car thoroughly! Soap and water works great, but you can also use a heavy duty cleaner like TSP. The cleaner the plastic the better the paint will adhere.
- After you’ve cleaned your Cozy Coupe and let it dry, sand it a teeny bit. Use a really high grit sandpaper and do just a light hand sanding to help prep the plastic to receive the paint better.
- Again, be sure that you’ve chosen a paint that’s formulated to work on plastic! I’ve linked a bunch here.
- I also recommend priming the Cozy Coupe first. Priming helps your spray paint adhere better.
I hope you loved this Cozy Coupe Makeover. A big thank you to Felicia McCloskey for her incredible creativity behind this post! You can follow her and her family on Instagram here!.
Are you ready to makeover your own cozy coupe?
Tried this for yourself? Tag me Today! I love seeing what y’all are up to.
Mention @simply.siobhan or tag #MimosasAndMotherhood!
This is adorable. Papa and Uncle work for the USPS, too bad my kids are too old now – they would have loved this!
Oh my gosh that’s so sweet! It’s so fun to make old things new and unique.
This is such a cute makeover!!!!
Thank you so much! It’s incredible how different it looks.
This is amazing! My kids loved school buses, I wish I would have thought about this! Your husband is so talented!!
It’s it amazing what a little paint can do??
That is just too stinkin’ cute!
Thank you so much!
This is so cute
Thank you so much!
What was the silver spray used for? And yes here in Atlanta the pollen is insane!
Where did you get the vinyl United States Postal Service letters? I can find the logo on an EBay website, but not the letters.
Hi Robin! A friend of hers made them with their Cricut!
What do I look up for the decal on Etsy