I’ve gotten into a serious relationship lately… with this stuff.
It started with the fact that we needed a large mirror for the front entry. In frugalista mode, I hit TJMaxx and found an awesome but also ugly mirror. Is it silver? Is it gold? Is it hideous? Yes – all of the above. But the price was right – $24.99. Add to cart.
Back at the ranch, I diligently covered the glass with newspaper and paint-taped the edges. It’s this part of the project that is always the hard part for me – patience and extreme detail. But I sucked it up, hit the frame with three coats of white glossy loveliness, and voila! I can’t wait to take a “real” photo when we get it up on the wall.
Few projects are without their flubs – and I share this one as a tip to anyone painting mirrors in the future. After I THOUGHT I was done and had removed all paper/tape protection, I noticed the tiniest little section in the corner that needed a quick spray of touch-up. I half-heartedly shielded the nearby glass by holding up a loose piece of paper and sprayed away. Of course, some ended up on the glass I had so carefully covered earlier. A little googling led me to break out my nail polish remover and a cotton ball. A quick scrub on the glass and hallelujah – the paint came right off. I will be remembering that trick!
Next up – I’m not a big one for WalMart, but while checking out their selection of paint colors, I passed by a clearance display. WalMart is already dirt cheap, and when you add discounts on top of discounts – well, I just couldn’t walk away from this originally “honey pine” lamp base marked down from $20 to THREE dollars! Yep, spray that baby up as well. I’ll add a shade later and we’ll have ourselves a bargain bedside lamp for the guest room.
Finally – I had been dying to check out the Goodwill near our new home and my anticipation was well rewarded. If a Goodwill can be swanky, this one is. I’ve heard this location is very choosy with what people bring in – and it shows. I could have walked out with all kinds of treasures but my time for projects is limited, so I kept it to just this bread box. The knob is actually stapled on, so there’s no removing it for painting. But with some careful taping, I’m going to use my oil-rubbed bronze spray paint to add a hardware-type finish to the knob and the rest of the box will be – you guessed it – white and glossy. I’m going to give this a whirl in our new kitchen and see if I like it. I hate taking up counter space but I also hate to see bread/bagels/etc sitting out. We’ll see which wins out here.
I’m so anxious to see the shiny new white items in action at our house – is it moving day yet?? 
You got soe great bargains. Our TJ Maxx is good, but the Good wills are horribe They have stuff priced like Walmart and Target. I am so excited to see your new findings in your new home. I am anxious to see the new home finished and furnished. Love your simple style.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi! I just found your site after using the lacquer spray paint…on an old frame I picked up on the street (score!) that I’m going to make into a bulletin board. Unfortunately, even after priming it with spray primer, it started turning PINK (or orange or something) after I sprayed the paint. I did put a few more coats. I’m hoping that when I go down to pick up up outside that it’s not pink again!!! Anyway, glad you had success with it! Did you have any issues?
Hey Christine!
It’s so funny you should mention that – the bread box that was still unpainted at the time of my post did the same thing to me…I used white primer and they hit it with coat (after coat after coat) of white spray paint, and the top continues to look like a child went at it with a pink crayon. I thought maybe if I sanded it down and started over, but I haven’t gotten that far. We move in three weeks so this has fallen to the long list of “post move projects”.
So glad to hear that using that spray lacquer isn’t just for the professionals. I fancy some super modern floating shelves, but all the ones for sale are way too short for my liking. Then I saw a website offering bespoke mdf shelves ‘spray lacquered, sanded between coats’ and thought…ooh, can I do that? Will it go horribly wrong? But you seem to think not. Hurrah! I’ll give it a whirl. We don’t have Goodwill here in the UK, but we have masses of ‘charity shops’ for every charity going and I’m blessed also with a Reclamation Yard, where people drop off unwanted stuff which anyone else can take for free (I live on an island and it’s a government thing to save stuff from landfill)