In general, I like the color gold.
I like gold on jewelry.
I like gold on handbags.
I even like gold on furniture.
But I don't know what it is...
I just do not like gold in my bathrooms.
I just do not like gold in my bathrooms.
And unfortunately, there is a whole lot of it in our guest bathroom.
See below...
See below...
But watch it comes back in style in a few years and we will look back at all this stainless steel and chrome and say to ourselves, "What were we thinking?"
Regardless, all I know is that as of today, I am not a fan of the gold.
So after some consideration, and Pinterest searching on spray painting shower doors and faucets, and my father warning me to not spray paint, I decided to go for it.
My spray paint of choice for this project was my go-to below:
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I started by popping out the easily removable parts of the shower door, such as the curtain rod, the towel rack, etc. I lightly sanded them and sprayed them outside.
Next up was probably the most annoying and tedious part of the whole project:
prepping the shower and bathroom with newspaper, plastic drop cloth, and painter's tape.
prepping the shower and bathroom with newspaper, plastic drop cloth, and painter's tape.
I was starting to feel like I was making a "kill room" on an episode of Dexter.
Creepy.
The actual spray painting part was pretty easy and quick.
And I was almost amazed at how clean it looked once I started taking the paper down.
We still need to change or spray the faucet (haven't decided yet) as well as the other gold accessories and paint and decorate the bathroom.
But I think the newly painted door is an improvement and a good temporary fix until we really re-do this bathroom the professional way (i.e. no spray painting).
Some tips if you are considering doing this...
1. Use Glad Press'n Seal and Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.
The Press'n Seal was good to cover nearby walls and the ceiling. It was fast, stuck nicely, and protected everything from the spray paint. The magic eraser was useful for the aftermath. Spray paint definitely got on a few spots that I did not want it to, but the magic eraser took it right off.
2. Don't wait too long before removing the tape.
There was a section I sprayed at night and then removed the tape in the morning. The spray paint dried partly to the shower door and partly to the tape so when I pulled it off, it looked like the picture below. So, I had to re-do that area. I'd recommend pulling the tape off after about 5-10 minutes of spraying.
3. After you think you covered it all in the spray paint...check, check, and check again.
Maybe it was my eyes playing tricks on me or the fumes were making me hallucinate but I thought I evenly covered it all.
I was wrong. See below:
4. This should probably go without saying, but...wear a protective face mask.
Those fumes are powerful. I had the windows open, the fan going, and a face mask on.
Even a day after, I had a little bit of a headache.
5. When spray painting, always keep your hand moving.
If you keep spraying in one spot, you will get drip marks and it will look really bad.
So, keep your hand moving and about 6 inches away from what you are spraying.
There were a few times during this project that I thought to myself,
"Am I insane for doing this?"
And I could have sworn that our dog Rosie looked at me and said,
"Yes, yes you are".
But that was probably the fumes again!
Happy spray painting!
-Caitlin
Was just wondering how the paint is holding up after some time and use ?
ReplyDeleteThis is our guest bathroom so it isn't used daily like our bathroom. But as far as I can tell and after some light use, it has held up just fine, even the drain stop in the sink!
DeleteNow that it is November and 3 months later, have you had any problems or is the spray paint still in good shape?
ReplyDeleteIt is our guest bathroom so it really hasn't had much use but that aside, nothing has really changed. The spray painted parts look the same, even the stopper in the sink. Rustoleum makes touch up paint so if there was a spot that got nicked, I could touch up with that instead of spray painting.
Deleteshower enclosure
ReplyDelete:-very good content and nice information...
I would love to do this in our master bath, but my husband keeps mumbling about having to remove all of the grout. Did you scrape out the grout first, spray and re-grout or did you spray right on top of it?
ReplyDeleteHi! Do you mean the caulk? Because the grout between the tiles was covered. The caulk, which seals the door in I did spray paint. I originally wasn't going to based on what I read online but when I tested a spot, it looked sloppy. So spraying the rubbery caulk along with the door ended up looking better.
DeleteGreat idea and one I've been toying with for some time. We have "GOLD" in the bathrooms also, and I'd like a change... but since we probably won't stay in this house, I don't want to spend a lot changing the look. A couple years ago I wanted new drawer pulls for my kitchen cabinets but didn't want to spend a lot there either (I'm a thrifty, my kids say cheap, kind of woman). I went to K-Mart, bought metal pulls in six-packs that were inexpensive, and used the same paint you used to spray them. It really transformed my cabinets and it has held up perfectly... they look like new! So the paint does last and last...
ReplyDeleteGood Post!! Really gold shower doors looks old fashion. Nowdays glass shower doors are mostly used. We have recently changed our bath room structure and used glass shower doors with framed glass. Truly speaking it is looking awesome.
ReplyDeleteI really like the way that your shower doors turned out. I would have never thought about spray painting them, what made you think of using spray paint? I think the thing that I like best about it is how cheap I'm guessing it was to redo all of this. This is definitely something that I will have to keep in mind when I start redoing my bathrooms and rooms in my home. I can't believe how different the bathroom looks with just the gold changed to black, good job. http://www.urbanglassworks.com/showers.html
ReplyDeleteThis makes me feels to spray paint my bathroom too. Love the idea! Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHi there! I just spray painted our ugly gold shower yesterday. As you suggested, I peeled the tape off within 5 minutes of applying the last coat of paint (3 coats total), but the edges still look really rough - even worse than yours! How did you touch up those edges? I have a few ideas - black paint pen, ORB paint with a foam brush, spraying the spray paint into a container and then applying with a brush... Any helpful hints?
ReplyDeleteHi! Oh no that's annoying. It's been about two years since I did it but if I remember correctly, I touched it up with Rust-Oleum paint that comes in a can. It's the same color, just instead of a spray can it's a regular can of paint. And I think for a brush, I used one of those small makeup brushes (like the angled eye shadowed ones). I think I also re-taped the bad spots before I did the touch up and peeled it off immediately after I applied the touch up coat so it didn't try and peel off all funky again. Hope this helps! And I hope the process was worth it in the end!
DeleteDid you prime or sand the metal before you painted it? Different sites say different things.
ReplyDeleteHi, I lightly sanded the metal but didn't prime it. Hope this helps!
DeleteYour doors look very nice. They are like new.I need to change the bathroom door but first of all I must be sure I can’t make it looks like yours. Thanks
ReplyDeleteSadly I did do this and after 8 months it did not hold up! Great maybe for a bathroom with little use but if day to day I would pass on this project.
ReplyDeleteOh no, sorry to hear that! Our bathroom didn't get that much use until recently since it was the guest bathroom and is now our boys' bathroom. Hopefully it holds up!
DeleteI am considering doing this if I can get buy-in from my sig. other. I am considering unscrewing the frame where it meets the shower wall and just taking all the pieces outside for a good cleaning, sanding, wipe down, and then spraying. I will put new clear silicon sealant/caulking when reinstalling. That seems so much easier than creating the CSI scene in the bathroom. Is there any reason you did not do it this way?
ReplyDeleteThat does sound easier! I guess I didn't really realize I could scrape off the sealant and then go back and add it again. I'd say any parts that you can simply spray outside is much better than having to paper and tape off all the walls! Good luck.
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