I am a chandelier hoarder. When I see an old one with a great shape, I must bring it home with me – even if I don’t have a place for it at the time. I stick them in corners of closets and in the attic crawl space until the perfect ceiling presents itself to me. It’s gotten to the point that my husband, Tom, has asked that I not bring anymore home. Oh, like that is going to happen!
Generally, the light fixtures that I hoard need some sort of attention – cleaning up, new wiring or an updated paint job. The challenging thing about painting a chandelier is getting the underside, the side that you can see when you stand underneath it. Chandeliers aren’t exactly easy to balance upside down.
So, I’ve devised a system in my garage to make the job easier. Here’s how to paint a chandelier:
First, I installed a hook in the garage ceiling. I put it into a stud, so it can bear some weight without the drywall coming down. From the hook, I tied a length of rope.
At the bottom of the rope, I am able to tie the chandelier – either by the chain or from the old wiring. I tie it high enough so that I can easily walk underneath it.
I string some plastic behind it so that I don’t get spray paint on my garage walls and place a drop cloth on the floor. I make sure to cover up any parts of the light fixture that I don’t want to paint, like the sockets.
I let the chain hang down so that it can be painted, too.
Then, I just spray paint as usual. I can cover the whole fixture at one time and be able to fully cover the bottom of the fixture without problem. If there are any other pieces (this one had a canopy and a piece that went around the outside of it), I put them on the drop cloth and spray them directly on the floor.
How do I actually paint it? I generally wipe it down with a wet cloth, and when it’s dry I use the Rustoleum Ultra Cover 2X (for colors) or Rustoleum Universal Metallic Paint and Primer in One (for metallics) spray paint. I don’t worry about using a stand alone primer or roughing up the surface if its for something that’s only going to be seen and not touched.
Are you a chandelier hoarder? How do you paint them?
Great tip and this one looks amazing. Be sure to link up to Inspire Me this afternoon, this is very inspiring. http://www.astrollthrulife.net. Hugs, Marty
Love that chandy! We don’t have a garage or basement/workshop, so I always do my spray painting outside. I did my first chandelier in the Fall, and we hung it from a tree limb outside so I could get to all of it. Ghetto, I know, but it worked!
YES – I am a chandelier hoarder! I just can’t get enough of them. I love the idea of the hook to hand it to paint. I”m always asking my husband to rig up some contraption for me to spray them. Looks fantastic and great idea!!
Love the tip. Do you have a picture of the finished chandelier? I have the exact same one, and have been waiting for warmer weather to spray it, and would love to see the finished, updated look. Thanks for posting the tutorial.
We love the chandelier, thank you, thank you!!
We painted ours a couple of years ago. We took it outside and hung it from a tree branch! Great ventilation LOL
Great tips for painting the chandy. I’ve hung mine from a low tree branch, of course the poor tree gets painted along with the light haha.
I have one I NEED to paint for over my kitchen table. I think I want it to be chrome but am having trouble finding a finish I like. Do you have a go – to chrome color?
Great idea for indoor painting. For those with outdoor space without a tree, I used a tall shepherds hook!
What about painting the chain? I have seen some in pictures painted, but I am wondering how do you get the paint evenly covered and where when you move it, it does not crack the paint where links are touching.
Hi Donna! I’ve painted tons of chain over the years, and I’ve never had any of it crack. I think if you painted it with latex paint you might have a problem, but spray paint lays down nicely since it’s an oil paint.