apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I recommend caution. Ninety-nine percent of the time, when someone paints an antique glossy white, it just looks like cheap junk.

Use spray paint. Make sure you use a paint designed for metal. Clean and prime first (with spary primer) and it will be fine.

oh you're so lucky! that's a great fixture! I'd love that for my bedroom.

Get it done at an auto body shop. DIY with white is going to look like shabbychicjunk.

Palmetto has a good suggestion, but even with a pro paint job, glossy white only works with sleek, perfect pieces. It highlights every imperfection, and it will make the non-painted parts look dingy. A matte finish is a better choice.

My dad owns a body shop so I get a lot of stuff painted there (wee!). I think Pametto has a good idea - but it might be too expensive.

Why would you paint it white - so it can blend in with the white ceiling?

I'd leave it as-is.

I vote for leaving as-is too!

You would need to remove ALL the crystals before painting since you'd never be able to truly covre them with painters tape or whatever. Also, it looks like the wire work is brass-colored so it might look weird if the base is one color and the wire is another.

Altering the gold in any way would essentially ruin the fixture. Just give the gold and crystals a good polishing. it will take on a new life.

If its a white fixture that you are after, then ditch the chandelier and look for something that is white or can easily be powder coated white.

The wire point is prolly the most relevant, if you paint the fixture white the wires that attach each crystal are going to stick out like a sore thumb... i think its kinda badass. Could you cleaning it really well and sleeping on it.

I was reading some magazine a while ago and the home they were featuring had a great redo for a crystal lamp. They spray painted the whole thing, crystals and all a flat white. It looked like a much more expensive modern piece than the HD special it was

I have actually done the spraypaint-the-whole-thing move. It does look realy cool. But honestly it also looks like what it really is (when you see it in person and closeup) which is a spraypainted chandelier.
I vote that you leave it alone. This chandelier style would not work painted imo. What might work is to paint it with a glaze that you can tint slightly (available at the paint store). I only suggest this if you dislike the gold color of the metal and want to make it look more antique and less shiny.

Thank you all for your tips/advice/comments!

The room it would be in (my living room) has gold crown molding and jewel toned velvet upholstered armchairs/sofa. I was giving the white paint idea thought because I still want the room to look fresh-fresh. Well, now this chandelier is sold anyway but I shall keep my eye out for another one and probably leave it as is, give it a thorough cleaning (as many of suggest) and keeps my walls, window treatments and frames light...