how to decorate top/botton fridge to kegerator build

so im gonna make a kegerator and im using a regular top freezer bottom fridge style refridgerator, so........

once i i get all equipment i dont just want to drill holes on the door of kegeratror and have faucets coming out of door i would like to make it so that its not so ugly (u know a white fridge with the faucets coming out of the door)

questions:
1. can i drill into the side of a top/bottom fridge, so i can give it a wooden "skin" with plywood or wood paneling and later stain it?
2. any other ideas to make a top/bottom fridge look nicer (e.g. i saw some people that used car vinyl wraping to put a beer bubbles design on fridge)

Side mount, yes. Here is one. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/show-us-your-kegerator-29053/#post352989



As for skinning or other design. I have always liked the "built-in" look. Making it look like a piece of furniture or as if it was built into the wall.

thankz bro!! After thinking about it, im gonna put wood panels with molding going around the paneling and stain it i was just a little concerned than by screwing into the sides of the fridge with self tapping screws i might hit a line or something. i am going to attach the panels to the fridge with 1 screw per corner so i would make it 4 screws per side of the fridge ...then attach the molding to the paneling with an air nail with finishing nails that are short and wont go into the fridge body its self

Liquid nails work great as well.

+1 on the liquid nails. Be VERY careful putting any screws into a fridge wall...especially the side. One way to make it look better is to remove the fridge/freezer handles and couple the doors together with one long piece of plywood. you can either pony up for the furniture grade so that it looks nice stained, or use cheap wood and put a veneer on it. The only downside is that the freezer will open when you open the fridge, but how often do you really need to open it anyway?

SO I WAS GOING TO BUY REAL WOOD PANELS.....but they are so expensive loews wanted like $25 a sheet at that rate i would have sent more on the panels than the fridge its self so i bought that fake wood mdf panels

over the screw head that is showing on the panel. i will put some molding and hide the screws on the molding with wooden plug also those cheap panels make for horrble looking cuts so the molding will hide all those "alligator bite" cuts.

I give you "The Mallard"

chalkboard paint

all of the mechanics of a fridge are in the back or the bottom behind the drawers the rest is like a cooler mostly insulation

good to know because i drilled the hell out of the side....the fridge is working great.....i'm almost finishing it!!!!

i still need to stain the molding....but i dont know if i should stain it or just polyurathane it and leave it clear? i was going to do the joints at 45 degree angles and all that but after thinking about it it was going to be more complicated and i dont have the woodworking skills to make every cut flawless. I know i was going to mess up at least once and have to go buy more wood and i'm on a $50 budget so i didnt want to risk it. There is nothing that looks worse than 45 degree cuts that dont match well and you see that gap between the joints!!!or worse than that when you try to fix the gap with that wood putty that when stained doesn't match the stain and everyone can see it from miles away....well, at least you can see it because you know its there!!!

the plugs i use to cover the screw heads....well now comes the easy part just attach the faucets and drip pan which i think im going to make with wood and one of those register covers that go on the floor on a house for the heating

corrales_305 said:

There is nothing that looks worse than 45 degree cuts that dont match well and you see that gap between the joints!!!or worse than that when you try to fix the gap with that wood putty that when stained doesn't match the stain and everyone can see it from miles away....well, at least you can see it because you know its there!!!

Click to expand...

Oh you mean something like this: ​

From my build. Pretty much solidified my decision to not stain my keezer collar

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/thanksgiving-keezer-build-208323/

this is what i mean by heating register they are about $10 and come in different sizes designs and materials...like brass steel and aluminum.....home depot and loews sells thwm locally too so you dont have to wait

hehe.... yeah that what i mean!!! its hard to make those 45degree cuts if you dont have the right equipment and skills. you have to take more things into consideration like how much the actual saw blade deducts from the wood every time you cut(tipically from1/16 to1/8) and some times you can get confused because you have to be switching your angles back and forth on the saw...even then i would not try messin with angle cuts unless i have a miter saw which i have but it is still confusing!! and once you mess up that putty is crap for fixing it in a spot that is going to be visible

+1 to the heat register drip tray. I've seen a few on here and they actually look pretty awesome. Gives a custom look to the finished project. Here's a couple:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/diy-drip-tray-recessed-122167/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-trash-can-kegorator-build-205607/

one last thing...i came upon a huge problem that could of had a very simple solution...i bought self tapping screws (you know that have a bit on the tip to drill into the metal on the fridge) and i usually buy the regular one ......but instead i bought these that are suppost to attach wood to metal!!! what a mistake!!!!! i guess these are for drilling into heavier steel that what a fridge has. when i drilled into the fridge the little tabs that are at the end of the bit tip(where the threading begins) on the screw for some reason make the hole bigger than needed and make the screws not catch the metal right!!! so the screws wont tighten!!! so i have had to manually file all the tabs off the screws because im on a budget and cant buy the right ones...so if buing self tapping screws(which i highly recommend so you wont be drilling all day)......buy the regular ones that say "to attach steel to steel" instead of "wood to metal".....i guess they are meant for thicker guage of steel. i guess the tabs are meant to clear the wood away so when you pass the wood while drilling and start drilling into the steel the screw does not catch the wood and start to lift the wood up. then they break off when you start tapping into the steel .....the thing is that the sheet metal for the fridge is so thin that the sheet meat rips before the little tabs rip off

buy ones like this with no tab before the thread

Fid said:

Oh you mean something like this: ​

From my build. Pretty much solidified my decision to not stain my keezer collar

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/thanksgiving-keezer-build-208323/

Click to expand...

Liquid nails bad.
Elmer's glue good.

you could just redo it..it not that much wood you are going to need