Blinded by the Light

...or should I say blinded by the out-dated-ness of the light fixture?!  Yes, I think I did just make up a new word for Webster's Dictionary to try and define.  When I pulled into the garage for the first time in our new house there was one project-to-be glaring right at me!!

Let me just add in an up-close and personal shot.....

Ummmm, I think those things have seen better days.  I have to admit, from the beginning of our house hunt I was always looking for little projects (nothing too big or expensive, just little things I could spruce up and put my own spin on).  I've been reading my favorite blog Young House Love for awhile now.  They are always working on great projects, some of them tasks I can handle, some of them tasks I can admire from afar.  Well....one of my favorites is their obsession with Rust-Oleum's Metallic Oil Rubbed Bronze.  It's amazing how a few coats of spray paint will make anything look new.  And the new spray paint on the market is way above the caliber of previous ones.  It's spray paint with primer, indoor/outdoor use, and the spray mechanism on it ensures you don't end up with finger tips covered in the stuff.

So the first step was to take down the fixtures (make sure the power is turned off or you may get a  more than unpleasant shock when disconnecting the wires).  Who knew those fixtures had so many pieces.  I thought I would have to cover the glass with paper and painter's tape but the glass panels just slid right out.

Once we had everything disconnected and taken apart we laid all the pieces out on newspaper and cardboard.  We gave everything a nice even coat and then checked on them a few minutes later to make sure all surfaces were covered.  

I can't begin to tell you how much fun it is to use spray paint.  That defiantly helps move the project along.  We let all the items sit in the sun for a few hours.  Periodically we would run out and admire our spray painting abilities (I'm sure the neighbors thought we were a little nuts).  The directions on the can indicated the paint would be dry to the touch within 30 minutes, to handle in a hour, and fully dry within 24 hours.  After maybe 4 or 5 hours we were anxious to put everything back together and see how it all turned out.

Voila......

And to get an idea of the whole picture......

We sprayed our metal house numbers too during this project and hung them back early on for instant gratification.

I think it is safe to say we both felt pretty proud of ourselves and now can't stop looking around the house for other items to spray.  We still have a pretty good amount left in the can so this project didn't even cost the full price tag of one can. 

On another note.....I recently got directions from someone who spray painted the brass colored framing around their shower with Rust-Oleum's Universal Hammered spray paint....maybe that will be another project in this house soon.

Happy painting.....and on that note I'll be posting soon about the painting that has been going on inside our house.