Painting Brass Fireplace Doors

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RE: Painting Brass Fireplace Doors

We are getting the house ready to sell, and I've been told that when today's buyers see shiney brass (faucets, door knobs, light fixtures, etc.) in a house for sale, they say, "ooh, yuck, 80's". And we used to think brass looked so classy :)

So, goodbye to the shiny brass fireplace doors. For a wider selection of paint colors, look at engine paint colors at your local auto parts store.

Post by ccotton

RE: Painting Brass Fireplace Doors

Hey there! I am currently working on repainting the brass trim on my fireplace doors as well. So far, everything has worked well & I am very happy with results. I am not finished yet but I have been doing this whenever I get an hour or so of free time & haven't been in any rush to get done.

This is what I have done/used:

1. Since I was taking this project on myself, I was unable to completely take the doors off but I did pull the parts of the brass trim off that I could (some of the brass strips of trim just popped right off & were super easy to snap back on). I used the widest painters tape I could find & I covered all of the glass & surrounding tile/brick areas also I covered up my mantle with a dropcloth just to be safe. I purchased a bag of steel wool (the finest grit) & sanded the brass trim very well. The brass color didn't even come close to coming off but it did roughen that finish so the paint would adhere better. I did a lot of sanding. I probably could have cut down on my sanding time if I had just used a rougher grit & then used the finest grit to finish but I was scared of scratching it up too bad so I just went ahead with finest grit from the beginning.

2. Next, I purchased the "RUST-OLEUM brand Specialty High Heat black paint". I actually bought 3 or 4 other paints first & none of them would adhere to the brass & looked awful but this paint really works & looks good too! I think you can buy this paint in other finishes, brushed silver, etc. I just purchased this at Lowe's & have seen it at Home Depot as well. I have actually been working on this project inside so I bought this in a medium sized paint can, however, it is also sold in a spray paint can (which I would recommend if you are able to move & paint your doors outside).

3. Next, I just used a regular brush to paint the brass trim. I have put a couple of coats on it but that's just my personal preference. I think it would have been okay after just one. I didn't use any type of primer (just the sanding) & the paint has a protective sealer in it so I don't see any need for any type of sealer paint.

I will try to take some pictures & post them in the next couple days so you can see what the finished product looks like. I am very happy with the way the project is going/looking & I'm glad I took on this project.

Good luck & if you have any questions, please feel free to ask! You can respond to me at: au_tyger_grad (at)yahoo(dot)com

Post By Kasa (Guest Post)

RE: Painting Brass Fireplace Doors

The experts at painting metal are the chain auto painting places. If you can, take it to them for a quote. If not, ask them for advice.

Another place that knows how to do this stuff is the specialty hobby stores, like model trains, cars and boats.

Post by the Oracle

RE: Painting Brass Fireplace Doors

Brass usually has a lacquer coating on them to keep the shine. That will have to sanded off with fine sandpaper.As for the painting part I would go to a paint store like Sherwin Williams or the paint dept at Loews or Home Depot and get there recommendations.After all they deal with these questions all the time.

Post By dean (Guest Post)

RE: Painting Brass Fireplace Doors

I too am in the process of taking this project on. I was told to use an oven cleaner first to get any fire residue off, lightly sand with steel wool, wipe down with mineral spirits and then use the spray paint for bbq grills which is sold at Wal-mart in the regular paint section.
Mine are so ugly we are going to replace them if this doesn't work!

Post By Sara (Guest Post)

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