One of the biggest eyesores in our house was this big, ugly brass fireplace insert. Before we even signed the papers, I started googling "how to remove a fireplace insert." As it happens, they're incredibly heavy, incredibly dirty and incredibly time-consuming. Fail. Nobody's dragging a 400-pound fireplace insert across my fake wallpapery-laminate floors.
As I was googling, I ran across someone who said, "Oh, I just got some high-heat black paint and painted it and it looks great!" Like anything could be that easy.
Except it was.
Alison and I set to taping out Big Brass Bertha last night around 10pm. I bought high-quality painter's tape that would stick to the rocks, and we taped everything we possibly could. The hardest part was the corners of the glass. Since I'm no stranger to taping out mirrors and random articles to paint, I had a little trick up my sleeve.
I took a piece of tape and folded a right angle with it. The end of the tape stays sticky so that it'll stick to the glass, and the corner piece is stiff enough that you can wedge it up between the brass and the glass.
And then the painting begins! We used Rustoleum High Heat Black Satin ($15, priceless results.) It went on very easy with a good-quality brush, and took just two coats. I can't even TELL you how amazing it looks. It absolutely looks like a never-used, brand-new, super-expensive fireplace insert.
This is after the first coat.
Alison and Laura, super improvers!
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After. I'll have to try to get a picture without the flash - it's just a HUGE improvement on a dated wall. Love, love, love! the whole project took about an hour and cost less that $20. Fantastic!
2 comments:
BIG BRASS BERTHA! ROFL! I just spit coffee on my keyboard. Fantastic. Sigh... must be hump day.
love you, A
oh girl...you have made my year. Our fireplace has the exact insert as yours and I have been hating it for 5 years. Thank you for this post!!
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