How To Spray Paint A Brass Fireplace

This post is all about spray painting your brass and dated fireplace cover. Do you have a dated brass fireplace that needs updating? Do you want to make your fireplace look modern without breaking the bank?

My parents came to visit us last year for the first time. They are from the Philippines and they had never been out of the country. It was fun to take them places and experience the American culture.

My dad is handy so we gave him a list of small projects to do around the house.  He was happy to help and we were happy to have the help.

I had been going through our living room photos at the time and I realized what an eye sore the brass cover on the fireplace was. It’s dated and in need of some help. I talked to my hubby about it and he suggested we replace it with a new one. 

Seeing how pricey they can be, I asked him if we can spray paint it and if it doesn’t work out we could get the new one. Dad helped me, which was great, because this was a two-person job.

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Here’s what we used:

• sandpaper, superfine
• Rust-oleum high-heat black spray paint – 2 cans
• Painter’s tape
• Standard spray grip
• mask (optional)

Here’s what we did:

1. Unscrew the cover. I only needed to unscrew 2 screws but it helped that my dad was holding the cover. It’s heavy and you need to be careful to not break the glass.
2. Tape the glass with painter’s tape (front and back sides). If you accidentally paint the glass, just wipe it off with a damp cloth immediately and it’ll come right off.
3. Lightly sand the cover, front and back. Wipe everything to make sure there’s no dust or residue left.
4. Shake the can before spraying the paint.  Attach the spray grip if using. Make sure to read the instructions on the back of the can.
5. Spray paint the front and make sure to let it dry after each coat. I also painted the back cover because I can still see the brass on the front.  I did 2 coats and that seemed enough. It took 2 cans of spray paint. Let the paint dry completely. 
6. Reattach the cover and enjoy your new updated fireplace. 🙂

Here’s what it looks like after we spray-painted the fireplace.

This project was easy and the little effort made a huge difference.

Our fireplace looks way more modern, don’t you think?  I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out 🙂

I hope this DIY painted fireplace inspires you to update your old fireplace cover without replacing or buying a new one. Trust me, if I can do it, you can do it too!