Fireplace Upcycle

Minibiker

Minibiker

Minibiker

Soldato
Joined
27 Mar 2016
Posts
7,844
Location
Bristolian living in Swindon
Evening all,

We're doing a complete decorate of our living room as it was stuck in the 70's from when the father in law lived here, I was thinking of upcycling the Fireplace instead of forking out for a new one, I'm looking to sand it down and paint the surround white to go with our walls, anybody know what grit sandpaper is ideal to prep this and I'm guessing I'll just need to primer it and mini roller it?

Cheers

 
Do you need it/use it? I removed mine to free up space.

You'll get a lot of people telling you to save it or keep it as it is, but it's not in their house so..
 
RollerBall said:
Do you need it/use it? I removed mine to free up space.

You'll get a lot of people telling you to save it or keep it as it is, but it's not in their house so..
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We wanted to get rid of it and build a media wall but the chimney breast behind is minging and will take a bit of work to get boarded up and level, so I thought why not try bring it up to speed with the times and spruce it up
 
Minibiker said:
We wanted to get rid of it and build a media wall but the chimney breast behind is minging and will take a bit of work to get boarded up and level, so I thought why not try bring it up to speed with the times and spruce it up
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Fair enough, it's a faff with flooring as well as you'll be left with a gap.
If it's part of a wider refurb (redoing walls and floors anyway) it's worth thinking about.
I think it's probably equally as much work to paint it with a good finish to a cut out, board, skim and vent.
 
RollerBall said:
Fair enough, it's a faff with flooring as well as you'll be left with a gap.
If it's part of a wider refurb (redoing walls and floors anyway) it's worth thinking about.
I think it's probably equally as much work to paint it with a good finish to a cut out, board, skim and vent.
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Were looking to sort this one way or another and then we're planning on getting the carpet picked and laid as this flooring has been down for donkeys years
 
Minibiker said:
Were looking to sort this one way or another and then we're planning on getting the carpet picked and laid as this flooring has been down for donkeys years
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If you're set on painting I'd key it down with 120 grit, then prime with either Zinser BIN or cover stain.

BIN is well recommended but I've never used it, but I can wholeheartedly recommend cover stain having gone through about 100l of the stuff.

After that use a premium wood paint, I have had good experience with valspar premium wood and metal colour matched in B&Q. It's a small area so you can use less of more expensive products. You don't want to cheap out for the sake of £20 and it looks like **** in a couple years because it's chipped, or wood grain is showing through.

You'll probably need 2 coats of primer and 3 top coats. Between every coat I would sand lightly with 180 or 220 grit. Lower grit if you leave it 24 hours between coats, higher grit if you're trying to speed run it. It looks alright from the pics but I'd fill any gaps or cracks with 2 part wood filler like toupret.

It's a bit of work but it means you'll get a uniform and flat finish, that once cured (a week or two) is very durable and won't chip. I've painted cabinets this way and they've held up with a 'professional finish' for several years.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, you want to use as fine a pile as possible on your roller. Either microfiber or foam. It will reduce streaks or orange peeling and give a flat, almost spray-like finish. I don't sand the top coats because I can't be arsed for it to cure and the finish is usually very good anyway.
 
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RollerBall said:
If you're set on painting I'd key it down with 120 grit, then prime with either Zinser BIN or cover stain.

BIN is well recommended but I've never used it, but I can wholeheartedly recommend cover stain having gone through about 100l of the stuff.

After that use a premium wood paint, I have had good experience with valspar premium wood and metal colour matched in B&Q. It's a small area so you can use less of more expensive products. You don't want to cheap out for the sake of £20 and it looks like **** in a couple years because it's chipped, or wood grain is showing through.

You'll probably need 2 coats of primer and 3 top coats. Between every coat I would sand lightly with 180 or 220 grit. Lower grit if you leave it 24 hours between coats, higher grit if you're trying to speed run it. It looks alright from the pics but I'd fill any gaps or cracks with 2 part wood filler like toupret.

It's a bit of work but it means you'll get a uniform and flat finish, that once cured (a week or two) is very durable and won't chip. I've painted cabinets this way and they've held up with a 'professional finish' for several years.
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Thanks bud, that's helpful! I've not sanded much in the past so not sure on what ones are best for what jobs :p we won't cheap out on paint, I want it to have a good finish and last!!
 
That's one of those jobs you start and wish you never bothered. Can't say I'd be painting wood like that, though I have an aversion to it as it was always my summer job as a kid to paint something with awful gloss
 
Minibiker said:
Thanks bud, that's helpful! I've not sanded much in the past so not sure on what ones are best for what jobs :p we won't cheap out on paint, I want it to have a good finish and last!!
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Get cheap rolls of 120, 180 and 220 grit. As a general rule 120 is for roughing, 180 is for fine sanding and 220 is for finishing. Wrap it around a block and you're good to go. For inset areas or detail work get a foam pad or a foam sanding pad so you can squidge it into awkward areas.

Prep and products is key. The actual act of painting won't take more than an hour or two across all the coats, but it's a multi-day project overall.
 
d_brennen said:
That's one of those jobs you start and wish you never bothered. Can't say I'd be painting wood like that, though I have an aversion to it as it was always my summer job as a kid to paint something with awful gloss
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I do love a challenge so we'll see how this goes, if it turns out pants I'll blame the wife :p
 
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