Painting Metal Items

It's so easy to change the color of your pulls! Sometimes you'll want to keep them their vintage finish. But sometimes painting them is the way to go to get a new & up-dated look.

Most of the time I use a more expensive brand of spray paint, but on the white pulls below I tried this less expensive enamel and it worked beautifully.

Preparation is very important for a good, long lasting paint job.

1. Clean the item really well with vinegar (if it's really built up with grease & grime, like many kitchen pulls are, then use something stronger like Dawn or 4O9)

2. Rub steal wool all over the surfaces that you will be painting. I like to use a glove when I use steel wool because I don't like the feel of little pieces of metal in my skin.

3. Rinse well to get any chemicals from the cleaners & bits of steel off of the metal.

4. Dry really well by wiping and letting it air dry also.

Now you are ready to paint!
5. I like to use the lid to a paper box for knobs and handles. Just push the screws into the lid.

6. Lay plastic or paper on the ground to catch over spray.

7. Spray 3 or 4 nice thin coats of paint, allowing at least 20 minutes in between each coat (drying times totally depend on the temperature outside).

I like to let them dry nice and hard for at least 24 hours before using them.

Here are some pretty bright gold light fixtures before getting their new metal color!

Now they are brushed nickle!

And here is a pretty chandy that used to be bright shiny gold. It's kindof hard to tell in this picture, but now it is painted with a metallic champagne color!

It's so beautiful!

**~**Lynda**~**