Good Questions: How Do I Paint a Chandelier?

Hello AT,

I like tole chandeliers, and I was thinking of buying one and painting it another color. Here's an example of one I was looking at. However, I've never painted a light fixture before; how do I do it? Do I need to get some kind of special paint so that the fixture doesn't go ka-blooey!? And if I need to get the light fixture rewired, should I have rewired first or paint it first? Thanks! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, D. Chen

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Dear D,

We've painted a number of metal light fixtures for purely decorative purposes and we've always used regular enamel spray paint for metal (ie. Rustoleum, Krylon, etc) in many, many thin coats. Take it outside, and spray it from all directions, wait 10 minutes and then do it again. You just want to be careful not to let the paint get too heavy or it will glob and run.

As for when to do this, you definitely want to get the rewiring done first as the paint is very delicate.

If someone knows how to get a much harder coat of paint, we would like to know.

Anyone else??

Comments (1)

I have to respond to the Great Chandeliers recommendation - while I don't know if they can answer your question, I do know that it is a very, very bad idea to buy anything from them. I made that mistake and received something that was absolutely not what I paid for, went through hell trying to get them to make things right and ultimately had to get my credit card company to try and get my money back. Great Chandeliers is simply not a place to trust with your money. They will ship you a defective product and refuse to take it back.