Painting Cheap Laminate Furniture - it CAN be done!

Through the inspiration of a friend and the help of a this article, I set out to improve the looks of this cheap cart I've had since 1990.  Notice the peeling laminate along the top edge.

First, I disassembled it, and cleaned off the dust.  :o)  I gave it a light sanding with 150 grit sand paper, and peeled away any loose/bubbled laminate.  Then I began with a coat of Adhesion Primer using a really soft 100% nylon brush.  I tried using a foam roller, but I didn't like the texture it left.

Then I put on 2 coats of black paint.  I waited a couple days between each coat.  This really tested my patience.  I prefer to work hard on a project and not stop until it's done.  I don't like to wait!  When the paint was fully cured, I tested my finger nail on the back of the shelf, and the paint scratched off a bit too easily in my opinion, so I followed the tip in that article I posted above, and put on a coat of satin polyurethane using a foam brush.  I let it cure for several days before I reassembled the cart.

I'm pleased with the result, and now I'm inspired to do this to more of my ugly furniture!  I'm not sure why I bought a whole gallon of that black paint.  I certainly didn't use very much of it.  Looks like I'll be painting more stuff black.  :o)