This is a table lamp that I picked up at a church rummage sale -- a sale in which the ladies running the show would not allow me to spend a dime. This lamp was the first thing that we got into my car. At the end of the hour at that church, I had a bunch of new things for the "loot box."
I couldn't wait to get home and show my son his new bedside table. I knew he would scrunch up his face at the brass coloring but I had plans for that table. Yes indeedy. I shall show no fear at brass and metal. That lamp was getting a makeover.
Now where is my paint?
I had heard stories about how difficult it is to change anything brass and in fact, I had noticed that Goodwill is just overrun with anything that has a gold or brass tint. I was determined that this lamp was going to be a glossy black. The colors of my son's room are blue and black with a smattering of silver and red. Silver might have been an easier color to spray over the brass but black was what I saw in my head.
White, red, more white, grey, silver, primer white, more primer white, lite blue, dark blue. All those cans of spray paint and no black? *&*#%*#$ Curse, bad word, curse. Hmmm. Okay, well it needs to be primed anyway. Carefully taping up the glass table and the lamp socket, off I went outside with the lamp, newspaper and spray can of Kilz. Half hour later, the brass lamp was now white.
After ten days, it was time to make that lamp a shiny black. I had read somewhere that if you are painting a metal object, the longer you let the primer sit, the better the final coat of paint will go on to the lamp. I figured ten days was good. Believing I had just overlooked the black spray paint, I pulled out all the cans again. Nope. No black. Uh oh. Three little cans of brush on black glossy but no spray.......Dare I?? Brush black paint on a metal lamp? Hmmmm. Brush marks, dripping, uneven....surely this is not going to work.
Well, I swore not to buy any paint so out came my little brush - an artist's brush and a little foam brush. First coat -- looks okay to me. That little brush sure came in handy as I discovered there are teeny tiny places to paint on a lamp. Second coat - here goes nothing....
TA DAH!!
Look how black and shiny. Fits perfectly with the color scheme in my son's room. It's perfect....well.... wonder how he would feel about a silver chain around the lampshade. Just a little bit of glue....
