How to Paint Light fixtures Front Porch Light Refresh
Paint light fixtures? You bet! Today I’m bringing you one of my favorite mini refreshes we’ve done to our home.
One of the easiest (and most budget friendly) thing to do to spruce up lighting is to paint light fixtures! Yes, sometimes a new light is needed, like our entryway chandelier. But often times, you can spruce up your old lights with a little elbow grease and paint!
We went from this:
To this:
Why paint porch lights?
Our porch lights were very dated. (Like the rest of our house when we bought it.) For the first six months I walked by them hating the impression they gave off when someone knocked on the door. But I argued with myself internally, we’ll be painting and completely re-vamping the outside of our house in a few years, so I just need to sit tight.
Then one day I had an idea. Why not give these little guys a paint refresh so they at least appear presentable through the waiting? If anything went wrong or the paint didn’t stick, well . . . they can’t look much worse than they already did right? Worth a try in my book!
I’m happy to report that a year later, they look as good as the day I painted them!
What you’ll need:
- Overspray protection for house (I used a large roll of butcher paper)
- Frogtape
- Black gloss spray paint (or your color of choice)
- Sandpaper (if needed)
HOW TO PAINT LIGHT FIXTURES
Prep the area: Clean the light well. Sand any rough areas (like the pealing wood on our light) and clean metal with a warm, soapy rag.
Tape off the light and overspray area: This takes the longest! Once the light is taped off, painting is a breeze. Tape a big overspray area around the light. You don’t want to get any spray paint on the house.
Taping them off on the back side facing the house was the hardest and took the most time. However, a little trick for getting paint off the glass if you happen to miss taping off a spot: Carefully take a razor blade and scrap off paint from glass. It works like a charm, just didn’t cut yourself!
To prevent spray paint from getting up into the light from the bottom, I carefully packed paper into the light so as not to break the bulbs. I did this until it made a sort of seal at the bottom.
Note: You might be able to remove the lights from the walls, disassemble them, and paint that way. For us, we were afraid if we took them down they would break, (they’re old!) and then we’d be forced to purchase new ones before we were ready.
Once you have the light taped off, stand at least a foot back and spray lighting. Do even back and forth strokes, aiming at different directions, up and down, to get at all sides of the light. Do thin coats and let dry in between. You don’t want to have to deal with drip marks.
Once you feel the light is covered well, let dry for a few hours before going back and carefully removing all tape and paper. This part is so rewarding as you get to see the porch light come to life! It looks brand new!
Like I mentioned above, we painted these guys last fall and pictures I’m sharing are how they currently look, one year later. There is no signs of pealing or any issues. We didn’t apply any sealer other than the original bottle of black spray paint. Seriously, spray paint is my absolute favorite. It’s just so versatile, easy, and quick!
Do you have lights that would benefit from spray painting? Give this quick refresh a try in your home this coming weekend with a light that’s been bugging you and let me know how it goes! Use the hashtag #homewitheryn if sharing on Instagram so I’m sure to see it and follow me over on IG for fun day in the life and current projects!
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