Spray Painted Mirror Makeover

If you ever find a cute mirror, picture frame, or wall hanging that you love but don’t love the color of the frame you can fix it easily with spray paint. This spray painted mirror makeover was finished in an afternoon and completely changed the look of my entry.

There are so many spray paint options these days, you can basically transform anything in your home and give it a custom look. My sister gave me this cute mirror a few years ago. I loved it, but after I moved I went from grays to more natural colors in my house.

Since every wall in my house (except one) is white I wanted the mirror to “pop” on the wall, while still keeping with the natural tones.

Spray paint is my go to for any mirror or frame. It’s so much easier than brushing on paint and it dries so quickly. You can finish the project in an afternoon.

When painting anything with spray paint it is important to tape off the areas you don’t want painted. I always use the blue painters tape and scrap paper to tape off the areas.

Another trick you can use when spray painting a mirror or anything glass is to take a bit of vaseline or petroleum jelly and smear it on the the glass or mirror. The paint won’t stick to it and you can wipe it clean when you are done. Thankfully, even if you do manage to get a little paint on mirror or glass it will chip right off in a pinch.

Another way to cover the areas you don’t want painted is to use Glad Press n’ Seal. I absolutely love it for painting because it wraps easily around any edge to protect it from overspray.

Once you’ve taped off all the areas that aren’t getting painted the next step is to sand the frame or section you want to paint. This mirror is plastic so I wanted to sand it to make sure the paint stuck to the frame. Spray paint sticks to most things, but I’d rather do it correctly than do it twice.

After the frame is taped and sanded clean it off thoroughly with a damp rag. You want to make sure all the little bits of sanding dust are removed so there is a smooth surface when you paint.

If this mirror had a wood frame I would skip this step, but since it was plastic I decided to spray a coat of primer on it first. It also helped that I already had primer so it didn’t add any additional expense to the project.

Primer takes longer to dry than standard spray paint, so if you are using primer make sure you let it fully dry before you paint with your final color. I decided to go with a bronze to match some of the light fixtures in my house.

After painting the mirror bronze it looked really dull. I decided it needed a little something extra to make it stand out in my entry. I had some gold sparkle spray paint and decided to see how that looked overlaid on the bronze.

This whole process is exactly why I love using paint to transform things in my home. If it doesn’t work or look exactly right you can just paint over it or start again. It’s so easy.

Once I started spraying the gold I absolutely loved it! A word of warning, any paint with sparkle will get everywhere! I had gold sparkles on me for several days after this project.

One issue I ran into when painting this mirror and can be an issue any time you use spray paint is drips. This happens when you are spraying too close to the item. If you do get drips when you spray paint I rub them in with a rag or brush. Or you can wipe them off and paint over it again.

To get the best results when spray painting, hold the can further away from the item and lightly spray it. Use multiple coats instead of trying to get full coverage on the first coat.

Also remember to let the paint fully dry before applying the next coat. This is difficult when you live in Florida and it’s 100 degrees outside with 100% humidity but it can be done!

I’m so happy with how this mirror turned out in the end. While I wouldn’t normally use gold sparkles on something I think it really adds a fun element to my entry and it cost me under $7 to completely change the look!

Before the spray paint makeover.

After the spray paint makeover.