I read about this in "Home Cheap Home" from the now-defunct Budget Living. You will need to sand the appliances a little so the metal primer sticks - it doesn't have to be bare - and then give it a few coats of enamel paint. What I am less sure about is whether you *have* to use oil-based paints (major fumes) or whether you can use something latex-based. The enamel can be tinted to whatever color you like. The example in the book was "acid green", which I have been obsessed with ever since...I think I like the sound of it more than the actual color.

I rent too and painted my fridge using spray epoxy. You can find it in any hardware store, and the can specifically says "appliance epoxy". I'm quite happy with the results, but here are some caveats:

- The can I bought said "white" and the cap was bright white, but the final color is definitely more creamy off-white. So test whatever brand you buy. My fridge had bad discolorations all over it, though, so it was still a vast improvement.

- The fumes were very strong and the can warns of brain damage from heavy inhalation. I had 3 large windows wide open, with cross ventilation and I still had to run to the window for air after each coat.

- Be patient and use many many light coats to achieve coverage. If you try to rush it will drip. Wiping it will make it worse...

- As you spray, the droplets that miss the fridge will harden in mid-air and drift, settling on every horizontal surface in your room like dust. So cover everything and be prepared to vaccuum.

BTW, even if you use paint (non epoxy), you'll probably want to spray it on, as you probably don't want to see brush marks on your fridge - it will make it obvious that you painted it.

I spray painted a metal sink cabinet with commercially available spray paint -- advice above about going light at first is very true. (also re ventilation)

HOWEVER -- painting a stove??? Sounds scarey -- won't it smell every time you use it for quite a while???

I was at the hardware store the other day and saw spray paint made especially for painting appliances. I am fairly certain it was Rustoleum brand. Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

If you're worried about the painting, I understand that some companies sell panels that can be used to change the color. Unfortunately I don't know how to get them (maybe through the manufactuer?) but you can probably Google, or maybe one of our brilliant posters here knows.

I think Blueprint suggested bringing the item to a car paint shop. They redid an armoire or something like that and it looked great!

I've see the auto paint solution suggested before. Those guys certainly have the equipment to strip paint and repaint to a high-gloss, and they have lots of experience.

"I m renting so buying is out of the question"

So spending $5-700 for new appliances isn't doable, yet two posters suggest bringing them to an auto body shop because they read it in a "modern shelter" magazine.

Did either of you rocket scientists note the cost & hassle?

There is a high-heat gloss spraypaint available for appliances. One assumes it won't give off too many fumes once applied (I'm redoing my microwave with it - eventually). I used it to redo the inside of my fridge and seal over one or two bits that were threatening rust. But it does need to go on in thin layers, completely dried before the next layer is sprayed, or you'll end up with nasty drip marks.

Many years ago, when my now ex-wuzband were first married, we rented a place that had no appliances, so bought a refrigerator, stove, washer and dryer from a second-hand dealer for cheap money. The items were older, and the colors didn't match (harvest gold, brown, white), so my ex had rented a spray gun and used auto paint, and painted them all to match. They turned out so well that when we moved, the new incoming tenant purchased them from us, which worked quite well, as we were moving to another state and didn't want to take them with us. Hope that helps.......

Thanks so much for all of your great advice. Spraying over brushes definitely sounds like the way to go. I think I have a few leads to follow and will definitley forward on pics once the job is complete.
Thanks again and happy holidays!

You might reconsider painting the frig white and just use stainless steel film. Less expensive, no fumes and easy.

http://www.bejane.com/product_stainless_steel_film

I have painted metal cabinets and a metal desk with a roller and enamel oil. It comes out great. But a stove I don't know about.

For the abobe projects it was definitely better to roll it on than to spray it.

I saw Electrostatic Painting used on a This Old House once.

Back as a grad student, my kitchen appliances consisted of mismatched hand me downs. I repainted gas stovetop, oven and fridge in grey hammerite. There were some advantages to the hammered texture. First, it is really forgiving--I painted two coats by hand with a small brush in situ and the results were very good. Second the slight iridescence looks really posh--similar impression as stainless steel appliances.

I didn't sand. Just did a really careful clean to de-grease the surface. The product is noxious. It even needs a special acetone-based thinner/brush cleaner. There were two techniques for applying a second coat. One was to paint within 8 hours of the first coat (which seemed to slightly dissolve the surface of the first layer). The second method was to wait 2 weeks until the paint completely hardened before applying another coat. This last method gave the best result.

I never had problems with lingering odor even when using the oven afterwards. This product goes by another brand name in the US. Colour chart for the stuff I used in the url below. Good luck.

http://www.hammerite.com/ie/products/ps_dtr_metal_paint_colours.html#hammered