Painted Thrift Store Bathroom Mirror

My upcycled mirror!

You know you nabbed a good thrift store find when two strangers walking into the store compliment you on the beat up mirror you are carefully loading into your car trunk.

True story.

With a little spray paint love, this pealing gold paint and not in a good way mirror is going to add a little more fun and a lot more less builder standard to my guest bathroom.

I bought the mirror last fall to replace the giant builder mirror in the bathroom. Builders use these giant mirrors to make bathrooms look bigger (with varying degrees of success) and to sometimes cover up quickly done or not painted very well walls (as least this is what I am finding in my own home. *sigh*)

I'm giving the new bathroom faucet a thumbs up in this photo NOT the enormous mirror.

Let’s paint this guy!

A good find but it needs a little work.

How to Paint a Wood Mirror

You will need:

Sandpaper

Rag or tack cloth

Spray primer (I’m using what I have on hand)

Spray paint (Also from my spray paint collection. I bought it new at the Habitat Restore because it was missing the cap)

Newspaper

Painter’s tape

Paint risers (Optional but helpful. I use plastic coffee cans Husband brings home from work to add to our recycling)

Drop cloth (unless you like getting spray paint on your floors.)

Make it:

1. Use the newspaper and painter’s tape to cover the mirror to protect it from the paint.

2. Sand the glossy paint finish from the mirror frame. You do not have to sand, strip the paint, or stain completely off the frame. The idea is to remove the gloss and rough up the surface so you paint and primer will stick without flaking.

3. Wipe the sanded frame with a rag or tack cloth to remove any sawdust from the frame.

4. Spray one coat of spray primer onto the frame. Let the primer dry completely before moving on to Step 5.

If you use a spray paint plus primer you can skip Step 5. 

Warning: Allow the primer to dry completely before spray painting the mirror. I did not and got crackling patches of spray paint on my mirror frame where the primer was still wet.

5. Paint the mirror with a coat of spray paint. It is always best to do several light coats of spray paint than one heavy coat of spray paint to prevent dripping and general not looking so hotness.

How to fix crackling spray paint.  I fixed my mistake by letting the paint dry overnight. I sanded the crackled paint down with sandpaper. I reprimed those areas on the frame with the spray primer. I waited at least 24 hours to repaint those areas with the spray paint. It worked. Whew.

  

6. Hang your mirror and gaze upon a project well done!

Mirror, mirror, on the wall...

I like how the orange pops against the turquoise walls in the bathroom. It adds more personality than the giagundo mirror and I used materials I already had on hand to repaint it. Woohoo! I have at least one DIY goal met for 2013!

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