What little kid doesn’t want to be a super hero? The cool capes, the rad theme song, a trusty sidekick- and some awesome wheels. If you’re Batman, you get the best of all- the Batmobile. And what kid doesnt want a kid’s Batmobile? Luckily with a cozy coupe kids car, you cab get your little caped crusader swinging around the block in style in just about no time at all with this awesome way to make your own Batmobile.
All it takes is a little paint, spray paint or vinyl and a printer, exacto knife or a cricut and the Batman cartridge and you’re on your way!
Now, since there was no tutorial for this wonderful gem I saw on Pinterest (after hours and hours of searching), I came up with my own- and while cursing under my breath at my method, I came up with a few other ideas as well that would save you from a visit by the f-bomb fairy. She and I are tight after this logo, let me tell you.
Even though I had a few stumbles, the whole project took less than 45 minutes, minus drying time. If you use vinyl, it would be an under 20 minute craft- you really can make it quickly!!
First off, I took this funky cozy coupe my mom found at a thrift shop for $7.
(note my son’s relaxed driving apparel)
I spray painted the entire thing using 2 cans of Krylon fusion spray paint- it goes on smoothly and sticks to plastic without priming or sanding. I did try another brand, but it dripped pretty badly. Overall, spraypainting the car black took like 5 minutes and was super easy.
After letting it dry for 30 minutes, I thought it was done, and my son excitedly ran to grab it. Big mistake- and major catastrophe. I’m writing about the aftermath tomorrow.
A few hours later, it really was completely dry, and I cut out a batman logo shape from the Cricut Batman Cartridge with my cricut onto some plain white paper. I used the inverse of the shape and the outline to use as a spraypaint stencil that I taped to the car.
I wanted the logo to be spraypainted on- but while I love the final results, it was a major pain. More on that in a bit- but here’s how the stencil looked taped on:
I then carefully painted the logo in yellow, trying to avoid drips. Unfortunately, drips happened. They happened something fierce, and the stencil lines got pretty funky.
If you get drips, or uneven edges, you can do what I did and fix it by hand. I sprayed a bunch of paint in a paper cup and painted it on by hand, which worked great- but it wasn’t the easiest or least stressful way to do it. You have to be careful when handpainting with spraypaint to not add too thick a layer- or it all scrapes off- kind of like what happens when you add nail polish on too thickly.
Instead of spraying on the logo, you could either make some out of tape or vinyl and adhere it to the car- or you could spray yellow paint into a paper cup and stencil it on with a stencil brush or sponge. You could also use yellow enamel paint- but acrylic might not fare as well outside as the plastic spray paint or an enamel.
To finish it up, I painted the wheels a metallic color to look like chrome… every little boy needs a chromed out car, right?
I still need to do a slight retouch to the lower left hand side (I am waiting for another night of dry time as the more I painted it, the more paint peeled off since it was still wet), but I love it!
Little man loved how it turned out, too:
What do you think?
Have you done any kids toy refashions? Please leave me a link to them- I’d love to see them!
Samantha Baker
November 7, 2018 at 7:01 pmThis is the coolest thing I have seen in a while! You truly made the boring kids cars that I see everywhere into something super cool! I’ve actually been eyeing these off for my 2 year old but thought they were a bit ugly, but you have inspired me to do a make-over and change it into a princess car instead! You are so clever – love it!
Tara Naidu
January 20, 2017 at 7:58 pmI think it’s amazing and I’m gonna try tomorrow morning but had a question how it the paint holding up now after these many years
Ron Stevens
May 12, 2015 at 11:10 amWoooow…I can’t believe you actually made a tutorial on how to do something so EASY…you said so many steps!..just buy the freaking thing, paint all of it black, print a batman logo, cut it into a templet and paint it in…how freaking hard is that?!?!?, I just lost 10 minutes of my life reading your step by step, its not brain surgery…what are you going to tutorial next…how to make a bowl of cereal!!! Seriously you suck.!!!
Lou
August 12, 2015 at 9:54 amAre you always such a jerk??
Alysa
November 16, 2016 at 1:18 amWow You are ass, if you knew how to do it then why did you read it in the first place. I think most of us had an idea what to do. I believe the autohor was trying to help by telling what worked well, what didn’t , what may work better, type of paints, etc which is exactly what I was hoping for. Didn’t your mother ever teach you “if you don’t have anything nice to say , keep your mouth shut”?? Talk about waste of time, you really must have nothing fulfilling in your life if you sit around and read how to articles about things you claim you know how to do and TROLL the comments.
sarndra
September 23, 2013 at 10:21 pmHi just wondering if u pulled it apart
Courtney ODell
September 24, 2013 at 3:11 pmSandra- I didnt. It would be easier to paint that way, but I just kind of sprayed with reckless abandon. You can also tape it off with painters tape!
Ron Stevens
May 12, 2015 at 11:19 amWhy would you tape any off it off?? Its all going to be black anyways?!?!?!!!! And you didn’t even tape of the rims when you painted them, now the plastic tires also got chrome on them, look at your pictures, messy…no common sense
Hil
June 10, 2017 at 8:41 amWhat a nasty person you are Ron Stevens! Why did you bother to comment on this, not just once but twice! If it was such a waste of your time reading it, why did you!!
Lots of people like to have a tutorial to have a look at, even if they know what to do, it’s called “being interested” and not being such a b*****d to people who have done you absolutely no hard at all!
Good luck to you Courtney! I won’t be using your tutorial but I would if my boys were still small – and I’m sure lots of other people will be glad of your advice. Well done.
Alexandra
September 19, 2013 at 1:40 pmThis is so cute! I want to make one for my son he turns 1 next month and has just started to walk! Did you use a glossy black paint ? There are so many options..satin etc
Courtney ODell
September 20, 2013 at 8:26 pmI used a plastic specialty one- fusion- which comes in a pretty shiny finish.
Kim~madeinaday
August 24, 2013 at 7:29 pmWhat a great up-do! y son had one of those… he’s now a senior in high school! but back in the day this would of absolutely loved this!!! Great job & post!!
Kim
Beth Carter
July 23, 2013 at 8:43 pmSuper cute! I’m hoping you can help us out as we try to make our son’s cozy coupe over as well. We’re finding that the spray paint is scratching off *very* easily. 🙁 Any ideas why?
Courtney O'Dell
July 23, 2013 at 9:02 pmHey Beth- which type of spray paint did you use? Ours did scratch (I need to repaint this summer), but that was after more than a year.
I used Krylon plastic spraypaint which helped cut down on scratches. Also, let it “cure” in the hot sun for a few days before playing in it- it will help the paint bond. It will dry quickly, but letting it set will help scratches. Also, you might want to see if you can find an outdoor spraypaint with primer if that doesn’t work- some cozy coupes are a little less pourous. Ours was pretty old and worn, so the paint stuck well.
Ryann
June 5, 2013 at 5:55 pmSaw this on Sunday, made for my son’s bday Tuesday! He LOVES it! Thanks! 🙂
Lisa
May 2, 2013 at 7:17 pmFor the batman logo, you mentioned it dripped when you spray painted the yellow. Did you lay it on its side and do it? Thinking maybe that’d take care of the drippage?
Janai
March 20, 2013 at 11:07 amHi! Thank you for posting such an awesome tutorial! I can’t wait to try it! Does the black get too hot in the sun? I’m not sure where you are but I’m in Texas and I’m a little worried that it might get too hot for my little one on our 100 degree days. Do you know anything about heat resistant spray paint? Thanks in advance for any input you may have!
Roberta
February 20, 2013 at 9:11 pmThis is so awesome! You have given me yet another project to add to my “when the snow melts'” list. My little guy would love one of these. Your blog is great thanks for sharing.
Courtney O'Dell
February 20, 2013 at 9:24 pmThanks, Roberta! It is so easy, you will love it too! I still smile when I see it, and its so fun! Thanks for your sweet comment 🙂
Mrs. Kosko
February 4, 2013 at 11:28 amHi – I’m curious what brand of cozy coupe this is? The ones I’ve found are only Little Tikes, either a newer style with big googly eyes, or an old style with horrible wheels. Let me know – thanks!
Krystyna
January 12, 2013 at 10:45 pmI’m curious about how well the paint has held up in the six months since you posted this tutorial.. Would you still recommend painting it?
Courtney O'Dell
January 12, 2013 at 10:49 pmHey Krystyna! I definetely would still do it again. Our little man is ROUGH with it- it has gone flying off the patio, into the (unlit) firepit, in the garden and been in snow, hail and rain. There is a little bit of wear on some edges and at the bottom, but otherwise, it looks great! Nothing a little touch up can’t take care of.
Pete
December 22, 2012 at 6:38 pmI just finished one for my son, and found an alternate way to make the Batman symbol that is cheaper, less messy then paint, and takes less time.
First off, to paint the car black I ended up using almost 2 full cans of the Krylon spray paint. Seems like it took quite a bit to cover up all of the existing color. We also noted that the paint seemed to scrape off easily (as noted above), but it should be fine for Christmas morrning (and after a few days in our backyard ot would look like that anyway).
For the Batman symbol, instead of getting the yellow spray paint (which $5 a can for the Krylon at Walmart), I bought a flexible yellow plastic “Yard Sale” sign at Lowes for $1.29 (Check out Lowes.com and look for item number 61491). I found an outline of the Batman symbol online (just do a Google search for “batman symbol outline”). I copied the symbol into a Microsoft Word document and sized it out for the symbol to be about 7″ wide. After printing, I cut out the oval symbol, then the interior bat outline from the printout. I used this cutout as a guide to cut out 2 oval shapes from the sign, then traced the bat symbol within both ovals using a pencil. Lastly, I used a black permanent Sharpie to fill in the bat symbol on both ovals. I plan on using a hot glue gun to put them on the car doors (not sure how well they will hold, but they can always be glued back on).
Thanks for the awesome idea – my 2 y/o is going to love it Christmas morning !!
Simple
December 6, 2012 at 9:55 amWhat size are the Batman decals? Are they 5″, 6″, 7″ or what?
Courtney O'Dell
December 9, 2012 at 2:26 pmI think it was 6.5″ or 7″!
Simple
December 6, 2012 at 9:43 amCan you tell me the size of the Batman logo’s? Are they 5″, 6″, 7″….
brooke
November 5, 2012 at 5:45 pmWOW! GREAT JOB! I made my newborn and 3 year old a batman pumpkinmobile (100lbs pumpkin) and they were ((haha.. okay, the 3 year old)) upset when I had to throw it out… This will make him so happy!
Did you spraypaint the yellow over the black? I’m sleep deprived from the newborn, so I might have missed something.
Toni L
October 8, 2012 at 8:41 pmIs it too late to make one for my son? Too cool!
Annabell
October 4, 2012 at 2:22 pmWhen you painted the wheels did you remove them from the car or just tape off the black tire part? Your end project looks terrific!
Courtney O'Dell
October 4, 2012 at 9:42 pmThanks Annabell! I just taped off the tires…. taking them apart seemed like too much work for me 😉
Kristen
October 2, 2012 at 5:44 pmI am going to try this tomorrow. My idea was this, spray the doors yellow FIRST, then apply a contact paper cutout of the logo, and spray the whole thing black. Peel the contact paper and viola! I will try to remember to post the results!
Leslie Nash
September 30, 2012 at 9:16 pmMy husband and I made our 4 year old a Cozy Coupe that looks like Lofty the Crane from Bob the Builder. You can see a pic on my blog (www.leslielyn.blogspot.com)
Sally
September 23, 2012 at 2:48 pmOops sorry, thought it might have been the one 🙂
Sally
September 23, 2012 at 8:07 amHey there,
I think the source is Memories of a Modern Mommy if you want to update your post. Great job, by the way!
Courtney O'Dell
September 23, 2012 at 2:06 pmShe had a great one too! I can’t find the original one from early this year sadly- I think it must have been a flickr competition from best I can tell.
Kate
September 12, 2012 at 4:43 pmBrilliant! We bought an older car at a garage sale for my daughter’s birthday, but it’s a little faded and sad. I can’t wait to paint hers, and this idea is AWESOME!! Thank you soo much!
Leslie
September 8, 2012 at 1:56 pmWe painted our hand me down Little Tyke playground because it was so faded. The plastic spray paint went on great and looked amazing, but after 4 months it’s chipping something fierce. There’s actually a little disclaimer on the can saying it doesn’t really work on Little Tyke stuff. Didn’t notice until after the fact…
The car looks amazing though!
Savannah
September 4, 2012 at 3:38 amThis has inspired me to paint my son’s very faded pink (albiet FREE) playhouse that is a current eyesore in our back yard! I wasnt sure which paint I could trust to adhere to that plastic until now, thanks
Courtney O'Dell
September 4, 2012 at 10:40 amOH I am so glad you said that! It would be great! I have been running around trying to think of all the plastic stuff I can recover. Glad it inspired someone else! 🙂
Nicole
August 30, 2012 at 9:14 pmThank you so much for sharing this! My daughter is going to be batman for Halloween (I got her one of those absurdely cute batman tutus that are floating around Pinterest) and I’m hoping to convert her current trike motorbike thing into a batbike(?).
Courtney O'Dell
August 30, 2012 at 9:56 pmthat would be SO cute! good luck!
Stephanie
August 30, 2012 at 5:09 pmLOL my son has those pj’s 🙂 Wow yeah I would be dropping words too if I had done that – crazy cute though 🙂 That you found it at the thrift store for $7 dirt cheap is also amazing. Kuddos for taking the cool idea and turning it into a reality.
Courtney O'Dell
August 30, 2012 at 9:56 pmThanks, Stephanie! It was a labor of love but I think it turned out great!
Stacie
August 30, 2012 at 3:28 pmMy son LOVES this idea! He saw it over my shoulder while I was cruising pinterest. Thanks for the added effort to show us ‘how to’ make our own.
Steph @ The Silly Pearl
August 30, 2012 at 11:40 amYou are the coolest mama! It looks amazing!
Amanda
August 30, 2012 at 5:52 amThis looks so easy and amazing. Great idea. I can’t believe in only takes 5 minutes. Plus it looks a lot cooler in black!!
taradara
August 29, 2012 at 10:11 pmlove it!!!
April
August 28, 2012 at 5:21 pmThis is awesome, and I too have been eyeing them up on pinterest! My question to you is… how’s it holding up?
Courtney O'Dell
August 28, 2012 at 6:31 pmThanks, April! It’s holding up great! While my paint lines weren’t perfect, it is holding up beautifully. I think vinyl, while much easier to apply, might not be as tough as plastic fusion spray paint with a rambunctious 2 year old.
Jen
April 25, 2013 at 6:56 pmI wonder what would happen if you used contact paper as a stencil?
Courtney O'Dell
April 27, 2013 at 7:38 pmOh Jen, I never thought of that! That would be PERFECT! Its not super pricey like vinyl but would cling well. I would just let the black paint cure overnight if you used contact paper so it doesnt peel any of that off.
Beth @ Free Stylin'
August 27, 2012 at 6:16 pmSO cute! Seriously. So cute.
Mia
August 23, 2012 at 12:48 amwwwwooooowww!!!spectacular! amazing! please make another one with spiderman!
you have doing a great work!
Theresa
August 22, 2012 at 3:36 amso cool, i was just outside yesterday staring at the one i bought for my grandson thinking i needed to paint it but had no idea what color. Now i do. thank you so much. Gonna cut batman in vinyl.:)
Megan W
August 21, 2012 at 11:58 amMy husband just painted my son’s cozy coupe to look like Herbie the Love Bug.
BethGmz
February 18, 2013 at 4:05 pmThat sounds adorable! Can u post a picture of it? I want to have my husband paint my 2 year olds coupe!
Jaimee @ Craft, Interrupted
August 21, 2012 at 6:08 amHoly fantastic makeover Batman!?! I have three boys. I wish I had jumped on the craft blog wagon way sooner, so I could have done aweSOME stuff like this for them when they were still little enough *sniff* Looks incredible!!
Ashley @ Cherishedbliss
August 20, 2012 at 9:55 pmOk, this is ADORABLE! I cannot tell you how many times my son forces me to be Robin in a day! I don’t know if I would ever by able to get my little batman out of it! Glad to see all the paint got off your little boy! : )
Ewenique
August 21, 2012 at 7:54 amThe coolest coupe on the block!
Courtney O'Dell
December 9, 2012 at 2:46 pmAwww, thanks! It was a labor of love… but it is so fun. I LOVE the car, and so does little man!