Spray Painting...like a boss
Oh, the wonders of spray paint!! Today I'll share a few projects I've been working on for quite some time, mainly because I kept running out of spray paint and had to keep buying more :)
First up are the ugly brass fireplace doors. I couldn't find a good "before" picture, just a few shots of it in the background of other pictures...
She's a beaut! We looked into replacing the doors, but they were upwards of $1000. Yikes! So after a little researching online and reading other blogs, I found out that I could spray paint the doors with some high-heat spray paint. It was worth a shot...I figure the worst I could do was ruin them, which let's be honest...they already had to go. So I found some Rustoleum grill spray paint and went for it.
Obviously, I taped off the glass and anything I didn't want to be painted. I did rough it up first with a high-grit sandpaper, so the paint would adhere better. I also washed it thoroughly because it was quite filthy. This picture is after a few light coats:
I did run out of spray paint that day, so it sat in the garage for about 8 months (unfortunately, I'm not exaggerating) until I found the motivation to do another few coats. So here it is after a few more coats of high-heat spray paint:
Looks awesome, right? She's ready to be installed, just in time for this winter!! And the total cost for this project was just 2 cans of spray paint, so around $12. So much cheaper than buying new doors! Hopefully we'll get 'er in shortly and I can share that picture. We still haven't figured out what to do around the fireplace (tile? brick? stone?) so we're in no hurry to get the doors in.
Next up on the spray painting docket, a few vases that I had sitting around that didn't match anything. I had bought these babies on clearance at Target because I thought I would use this color purple in the guest room, but I ended up going with a darker, more plum purple. I tried selling them in the yard sale, but I put high prices on them because I didn't really want to get rid of them :) Imagine my "surprise" when they didn't sell!
So I bought a can of Krylon white primer, and another can of Krylon white satin. I read a few posts online about the best methods for spray-painting glass and went to it. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but this is how they turned out after quite a few coats of primer and an entire can of spray paint:
There's a weird shadow on the lamp, but I promise it's just all white goodness in real life. I put them up on small 2x4 blocks so I could paint the bottoms more easily. After I ran out of paint again, I pulled them inside to cure. Here's a better shot of them without all the sunlight and shadows:
I'm so happy with how they turned out! And, they're smooth to the touch, as if they had always been white. I do need to get one more can and just touch up a few spots, and then they'll find a new home in the basement someday!
What have you spray painted lately? Have you tried painting something and ended up ruining it, or have you always had good luck?
First up are the ugly brass fireplace doors. I couldn't find a good "before" picture, just a few shots of it in the background of other pictures...
She's a beaut! We looked into replacing the doors, but they were upwards of $1000. Yikes! So after a little researching online and reading other blogs, I found out that I could spray paint the doors with some high-heat spray paint. It was worth a shot...I figure the worst I could do was ruin them, which let's be honest...they already had to go. So I found some Rustoleum grill spray paint and went for it.
Obviously, I taped off the glass and anything I didn't want to be painted. I did rough it up first with a high-grit sandpaper, so the paint would adhere better. I also washed it thoroughly because it was quite filthy. This picture is after a few light coats:
I did run out of spray paint that day, so it sat in the garage for about 8 months (unfortunately, I'm not exaggerating) until I found the motivation to do another few coats. So here it is after a few more coats of high-heat spray paint:
Looks awesome, right? She's ready to be installed, just in time for this winter!! And the total cost for this project was just 2 cans of spray paint, so around $12. So much cheaper than buying new doors! Hopefully we'll get 'er in shortly and I can share that picture. We still haven't figured out what to do around the fireplace (tile? brick? stone?) so we're in no hurry to get the doors in.
Next up on the spray painting docket, a few vases that I had sitting around that didn't match anything. I had bought these babies on clearance at Target because I thought I would use this color purple in the guest room, but I ended up going with a darker, more plum purple. I tried selling them in the yard sale, but I put high prices on them because I didn't really want to get rid of them :) Imagine my "surprise" when they didn't sell!
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| I was also going to paint the tray and candle sticks...but those never happened. |
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| I carefully taped off the cord and lamp parts so they wouldn't get painted. |
Say wha???? This is going to take a lot longer than I thought! Also, after they dried I noticed that they felt very bumpy like sandpaper, not smooth. So I read a bit more online, talked to some crafty friends, and decided to just try again. They were already ruined, so I figured they could only get better!
I lightly sanded the pieces to get rid of the gritty texture. This time, I bought a can of Krylon white Gloss finish. I shook the can for longer than the recommended 2 minutes (this is a tip I read online to get rid of that gritty texture). Then I did frequent, light coats, allowing about 1-2 minutes between coats. This time, it worked like a charm!! Check these babies out now:
I'm so happy with how they turned out! And, they're smooth to the touch, as if they had always been white. I do need to get one more can and just touch up a few spots, and then they'll find a new home in the basement someday!
What have you spray painted lately? Have you tried painting something and ended up ruining it, or have you always had good luck?
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