Continuing with the collar, I treated the wood just like the base trim with denatured alcohol and Minwax Ebony. One thing to notice with the bigger pieces is that DA dries FAST. When you apply the stain, it will not mix like oil and water. I just rub it with the stain pad until it emulsifies which doesn't take very long at all. It'll then look almost pitch black (too black), but after you let the stain set in, you just wipe/rub the excess off to your liking.
I was a bit concerned with cutting the seal on the lid but after studying this thread and poking about on my own, I found it came off easy with a sharp utility knife when cut on both sides.
and here
Here's the collar assembly sitting on the lid. You'll need to trim part of the little plastic ends (on the corner) a little to make sure things fit/align, which is easy with a utility knife.
Here's the finished collar. I brought it indoors after a couple days to help it cure at room temp for about a week.
Mapping out where the taps will go
Kegs will arrive sometime next week probably. This keezer project has to be back burnered for a little while to take care of more important things. At any rate, I should have this completed no later than 5 weeks time, since by then I should have 2-3 brews already in kegs.
One note about chalkboard paint. I didn't bother looking at an actual HD store for it since I looked online and it said it wasn't available in store. I was in Lowes last week and found Valspar brand for about $15 a quart. It's with their specialty paints area. I later went to HD and thought to check out their similarly placed items (these were next to the sprays behind the cage) and they have Rustoleum brand, which was $10 bucks a quart. AND I BOUGHT 3 at LOWES. AGH... Oh well. I did learn they both carry magnetic paint/undercoating which seems pretty interesting...