Can You Paint Chrome Bathroom Fixtures
This week of the One Room Challenge has been exactly what it claims to be… a challenge. Not necessarily because of the to-do list, but more due to some personal issues. I'm telling you, bathrooms tend not to matter much in the grand scheme of things, but design projects can certainly serve as great distractions!
My distraction for the week was completing a spray painted shower fixture revamp! For those who read my blog, you know that my budget is always non-existent, so the changes I make are as low cost as low cost can get. That usually means I utilize lots and lots of paint!
This project was no exception.
The bathroom fixtures were in great shape and had been updated sometime in the 90's (I think). There was really no real reason to replace them, but I didn't love the chrome finish.
After doing lots of research about spray painted shower fixtures, I followed Lauren's tutorial from Bless'er House, which was awesome and has been floating around Pinterest land for years.
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The supplies needed:
- Automotive primer spray
- Spray paint in your color choice
- A top coat– I used this matte spray, but if you are okay with a little gloss, this clear gloss lacquer might wear a bit better
- Painter's tape– this is my favorite
- drop cloths or trash bags
- course grit sandpaper
- respirator mask
Make sure that you complete this project with lots of good ventilation. Open windows, turn on fans, and definitely use a respirator mask.
The Shower Head
Though I wanted to paint everything else, I did choose to buy a new shower head. I wanted to get a wider, rainfall head. I searched Amazon for one that was matte black within my very tiny $30 budget. Alas, I only found oil-rubbed bronze. No big deal.
I ended up going with this one and bought it "used" from Amazon. If you aren't aware of the "Buy Used" feature, you should be! Repackaged items are resold at major discounts…. from coffee makers to hardware, you can find some serious deals. This one arrived really quickly and I spray painted it too :).
I initially removed the flow restrictor and the water pressure was intense! It would be great for those of you with newer plumbing. However, our drain couldn't keep up and I felt a little guilty about all the water usage…. I do love the planet. So, the flow restrictor went right back in.
The Prep
Before spray painting, I gave my fixtures a really good cleaning. Then, I sanded my heart out. I used course grit sandpaper and sanded and sanded and sanded until I could sand no more. You want to make sure that you give the paint a nice, rough surface to adhere to.
Next, I made sure to remove all that sanding dust and used my favorite painter's tape, Frog Tape, the go around each fixture. Lots of smaller pieces are better to cover circles and more rounded shapes.
Once I got the initial tape circles around the fixtures, I went back in and taped down my DIY plastic drop cloths to fully cover my tub and tile,m. (If you are semi-lazy/cheap like me and don't want to make an extra trip to the hardware store, my DIY drop cloths were large trash bags cut apart to cover more space).
I know that I could have been professional here and removed the fixtures from the bath to spray them without fear of getting paint on my tub or tiles. HOWEVER…I totally didn't care or want to mess with that. Painter's tape and trash bags worked like a charm.
The Primer
When you select the paint you are going to use, make SURE that you read the directions on the can FULLY. Each paint has different dry and re-apply times.
For the automotive primer that I used, I sprayed one really light coat, then went back within two minutes and re-applied. I sprayed a total of three coats.
The Matte Black Spray Paint
The directions stated that the paint dries to the touch within 15-30 minutes and dries to handle in 1-2 hours. It also directed me to apply a top coat or recoat within an hour OR after 48 hours.
I let the primer dry for an hour, and then sprayed multiple light coats of the black spray paint that I had chosen, a few minutes apart. I wanted a really nice matte black, and this one was perfect. Light coats are the way you want to go to avoid drips and runs. This paint said that it dried to the touch after 20 minutes, dried to handle after an hour, and fully dried after 24. The directions also stated that a top coat or clear coat should be applied within the hour, or after 48 hours.
The Matte Top Coat
Within the hour, I applied three layers of the top coat– kind of like a top coat after painting your nails– and I spaced them out within a few minutes of each other.
Ensure that you DO NOT use your shower for 24 hours to let the paint really set! No moisture on that paint!
The Snag…..
A Blue Agate Abode project wouldn't be mine if I didn't hit a snag….. right?
Well, during this project, I realized that we had a leaky faucet. Wonderful timing to discover this. Don't ask me how we hadn't noticed before.
I had taped and sprayed the drain, just as I had the other fixtures and thought all was well. After a few hours passed, I checked in on the drain only to see that water had been dripping on my paint job and it looked like an oil spill disaster scene.
I ended up attaching a plastic bag with a rubberband to the faucet until I completed the job. I promise to fix the leak another day!
The Final Product
Once everything was dry enough to handle, I removed my tape and "drop cloths" and inspected my work. I was pretty pleased! There was one section of tile where I had to use a razor blade to remove a bit of overspray, but I am truly so happy with the spray painted shower fixtures!
The paint particles will leave a bit of dust over the tub, but they really do dry almost as soon as they fly into the air, and they settle as dust, which is easy to clean.
The Curtain Rods
Now that I had beautiful matte black fixtures in the bath, I needed to do something about the ugly mismatched chrome shower rods that had gouged holes into my walls.
Here is the before pic:
I patched the damage that the rods left in the walls prior to painting, and knew that I didn't want to suspend the curtains from the walls again. I've always loved the look of shower curtains hung from the ceiling. I think it can really elevate the style in a bathroom.
I looked into buying rods and brackets made for ceilings online, but realized that I had an Ikea set in my hall closet in the perfect matte black shade. Specifically, Racka curtain rods, Betydlig curtain rod wall brackets, and the Raffig finials. They're so affordable and Amazon also sells the whole kit together here. This particular Betydlig bracket can be used against walls OR ceilings, so I had a winner.
I also got these matte black clips to hang the curtains.
The Curtains
As I had decided to suspend the rod from my ceiling, which is definitely higher than the curtains were previously hung, not any old shower curtain would cut it. They'd definitely be too short. I went with 84″ white curtains made for windows. Any old shower curtain liner also wouldn't do, so I got am 84″ set of liners from Amazon, one per side.
I like how the two curtains kind of frame the room by parting down the center!
I had to spice it up a bit and gave the curtains a little bedazzling with….any guesses?
…………FRINGE!!!!!
Haha, no real surprise there! The added fringe also helped me out with the curtain length just a bit. I stitched this fringe trim from Amazon along the bottom of both curtains. It is the same fringe trim that I used in the girls' room on their curtains and lamp shades.
The pic below is actually of the curtains from their room. I would love to show the fringe in the bathroom, but it would reveal the flooring progress to you all before I'm ready! (That's for next week…)
The bathroom has definitely received an upgrade! A very inexpensive spray painted shower fixture upgrade, but maybe you'd never know it was such a steal of a deal if I hadn't told you…..
I'll make sure to make a six month follow-up post to let you all know how the spray painted shower holds up with daily use.
Next week I'll be sharing a fabulously funky floor design, so make sure to swing back by. You can see a sneak peek in the pic above!
As always, click the ORC link below to catch up on all the other blogger rehabs, renos, and revamps! There are some really special ones.
xx,
Miranda
Can You Paint Chrome Bathroom Fixtures
Source: https://blueagateabode.com/spray-painted-shower-fixture-main-bathroom-update/
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