How To Paint a KitchenAid Mixer a New Color
If you’ve ever thought, “what was I thinking when I picked out that color?” while staring at your kitchen mixer, this DIY might just be for you. For around $10 you can repaint to freshen up or completely change the look of your mixer —a pretty sweet alternative to shelling out a few hundred bucks for a new machine!
This machine works extremely well and I was a bit hesitant about painting it, but it looked old and dingy so I wasn’t allowing it to sit on my countertop —which means I wasn’t using it as much as I should. The option of having it match my other appliances was was a huge bonus as well. Who doesn’t love a matchy-matchy kitchen!
What You Need
Materials
- All purpose cleaner
- Rags
- Good quality spray paint or epoxy spray paint
- Enamel gloss protective spray
- Painters tape
- Sanding block
- Plastic bags/plastic wrap
Tools
- Screwdriver
Instructions
1. Take photos from a few different angles of your machine. Depending on how much you decide to disassemble, this reference will come in handy.
2. Throughly scrub your mixer with all-purpose cleaning solvent, making sure to remove any gunk/grease/cookie dough that is stuck to the machine.
3. Start to disassemble your machine. You can easily remove the end cover and the bowl clamping plate, and in most cases the silver strap around the top of the machine (there is a small screw near the lower left side of the motor).
4. I’ve always had bad luck with being able to put things back together after deconstructing them, so I removed the back plate and covered everything else with tape.
The larger screws are really easy to cover, just press around the edges with your nail and the excess tape around the screw should come right off, giving you really nice, clean lines. Cover any other knobs and screws that aren’t easily removable.
Use a utility knife to cut around areas to give you clean lines for a clean finish.
5. Remove the attachment knob and set it in a safe place, and cover the attachment hub so that no paint gets inside.
6. After you’ve covered all areas that you do not wish to be painted, start working over your mixer with a sanding block (I used 120). The objective is to sand off the “gloss” —you don’t want to see metal.
7. After sanding your machine, wipe it down with your all purpose spray. Don’t leave any sanding dust behind or the paint won’t adhere correctly.
8. Give your machine several light coats of paint, letting each coat dry completely each time. Don’t hold the spray can too close to the machine or it could cause the paint to run, which would look really unprofessional.
9. After the paint has dried completely, coat it several times with your protective finish. Follow the instructions on the can, letting each coat have adequate drying time.
Let your machine cure for 3-5 days before using it. I tested a few inconspicuous areas by trying to chip away at the paint and while I wasn’t able to chip the paint, my fingernail (when pressed really hard) was able to leave an indentation. This was my signal to continue to let the mixer cure for another day or two.
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