DIY | Spruce up that old mirror frame with a lick of paint

Quite a long time ago I acquired this old mirror from a second-hand store for not much at all, and for years it hung on the passage wall, looking yellowed and over time, increasingly tacky.

Finally I decided I had a choice between tossing it, or revamping it so that it would add to the look I wanted in the hallway rather than detract from it.

This task was accomplished with the minimum of fuss — and cost.

While in a restaurant one day, I visited the washroom and noticed the mirror on the wall above the basin.

It was round and had an ornamental, painted metallic silver frame.

It set me to thinking — why should my old mirror not look as good with a fresh coat of metallic sliver paint?

At the next available opportunity I examined the old mirror at home.

It didn’t come apart — that is, unlike a picture frame type of construction, there was no way to remove the mirror without breaking something.

The frame itself consisted of plaster, and in two places the plaster had chipped off, revealing a wire frame underneath.

It seemed to have been someone’s art project.

That didn’t matter to me — I’d always liked the overall look of the ornamental frame — it was just the old paint that needed sprucing up.

I toddled off to Builder’s to get a tin of silver metallic spray paint, and after covering a table with newspaper so as to not end up with two silver metallic objects instead of one, I put the mirror on top and began masking it off with newspaper.

I couldn’t remove the mirror from the frame, but there was sufficient space to prod the edges of the newspaper under the leading edge around the mirror.

I then sprayed the mirror frame evenly, ensuring that the paint reached the surfaces all the way round.

After allowing the first coat to dry, I applied a second coat.

Satisfied, I allowed it to dry for a few hours before removing the newspaper masking and putting the mirror back in its spot in the hallway.

What a difference!

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