So, remember the family room makeover?  It’s still there, but it has dragged on for quite a while!  It’s a project that moves in fits and starts.  I’ll make huge progress and then I’ll get distracted by other things for a while.  That’s not a bad way to work on a project, though, especially one that’s strictly cosmetic and not causing any real interruption to the household.  I can take a break and come back to it with fresh energy and perspective.  It’s allowed me to make decisions one step at a time and I certainly haven’t felt rushed!  This past weekend, though, it was warm-ish (for February in Minnesota), sunny, and I was itching to tackle a list of undone projects including finishing the details of a project I worked on back in October – painting the metal fireplace surround.

I painted the mantel and tile, but the reveal was a little anticlimactic because of the chipping paint on the metal fireplace surround.  (You can see that makeover HERE.)  I was procrastinating painting it because I honestly wasn’t sure how nice it would look painted.  I knew I couldn’t give it a factory finish with a can of spray paint.  But, the chipping looked terrible, so I decided it was worth a try.  If it didn’t look better, we could look into replacing the cover.

The first step to painting a metal fireplace surround is to remove any chipping paint.  In our case, it was caused because the fireplace wasn’t venting properly after it was serviced a couple of years ago.  The heat wasn’t venting, so it built up behind the glass and caused the paint to bubble and peel.  Thankfully, we noticed it happening and had it properly serviced and checked.  It works great now, but the chipping paint remained.

I removed the chipping paint with a ..

And then sanded it down with fine sandpaper and then steel wool until the edges of the chipped paint were as smooth as I could get them.  I gave the rest of the metal a scuff with to give it a little tooth for the new paint to hold on to.  I cleaned the metal with a to remove the dust.

Since I was using spray paint, I taped off the glass and covered it in brown paper bags…

The paint I used for painting the metal fireplace surround was .

I applied two light coats of paint, allowing the instructed dry time between coats.  We had a warm fall day, so I took advantage of what might be my last opportunity for painting the fireplace surround in a while!

I was a little skeptical after the first coat, but it ended up looking great after the second coat.

You can still see a very faint ridge where the paint chipped, but only when it’s sitting in the sun.  Inside, installed back on the fireplace, you can never tell.

As a reminder, here is how the family room fireplace looked…

And here is how it looks after painting the mantel, the tiles, and painting the metal fireplace surround…

We also installed a chair rail, which adds a nice little architectural detail to the room.

It is every-so-slightly blacker than the black of the other metal components of the fireplace, but I don’t think that’s the kind of thing anyone would notice unless they were looking for it.  Because the two metal surfaces next to the painted surround tip upward, reflecting more light, they look lighter, anyway.

I’ve done a lot of painting over the years, but painting a metal fireplace surround was a new venture for me and I am pleased with how it turned out.  I honestly thought we’d be looking into replacement cover options, but this one turned out great for the cost of one can of paint.

I decided to give the vintage pond yacht a little featured time over the fireplace for a little while.  Don’t worry.  Karlsen is safe and sound.