I found this baby at the Goodwill for a steal....great piece, just not in my favorite finish. I looked past the shiny brass and knew it was the shape and size I was looking for.
I wanted something big, dramatic, and lantern-ish. It's definitely big, 30" long by 17" wide. This would not have worked had it not been for the tray ceiling in the bedroom.
On to painting. There are a lot of different ways to use spray paint and here is what I find works best for me. I always, always, always prime, especially metal. I use clean metal primer and it covers like a dream. I like to leave it over night to really cure, by the next day, the surface is ready to accept paint. For spray paint, I typically use Krylon, in this case I used glossy black. I find that I use less paint when I prime, not to mention a much more durable finish. Again, I like to let the paint cure another night. After lots and lots of spray painting projects, this is what works for me.
I chose to mask off the glass instead of taking it out. I was afraid I wasn't going to get the chandy put back together right, so I masked. Here is a tip: Once I had unscrewed the little triangle screw caps and taken out the lighting part, I screwed them back on. Not only does this make it easier to prime and paint, it protected the threads from getting sprayed.
Goodbye brass, hello black! I primed, I painted, I happy! :)
My guys hanging the chandy, don't they look so happy about doing it! Ha! I don't remember what they were talking about, but I'm sure it wasn't about being happy hanging this heavy thing!
It works! I had this vague fear that after all the work I put in it (and the work in hanging it) that it was at the Goodwill because it didn't work. Luckily, that fear was unproven! Shew!
I cleaned it all up and it looks fantastic in the room. One other step that I did, which was hard to photograph. I used Rub-N-Buff (in antique gold) on the little triangle screw caps. It was really a great detail that talked back to the other gold in the room.
You might ask yourself why didn't I just leave them the original brass, well I wanted them to be antique gold and wanted some of the black showing through. It's really a detail that isn't noticed right away, but I think it helped it stand apart from just a standard black paint job.
I think it was worth all the effort!
If you've got one, I hope you are inspired to paint that brassy chandy!
The bedroom is coming along, I can't wait to show you everything that's been done, and see how far it's come (and see what will still need to be done :)! Here's a little sneaky peaky!
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