Our outdoor light fixtures were ugly and rusted when we bought our house 2 1/2 years ago, so now they are REALLY rusted and ugly. It bothered me each time I drove into the garage (about 5 times a day), so this weekend I decided to do something about it! I did some research and found a great how-to Refinish Outdoor Light Fixtures. I was confident that no matter how this project turned out, it would be an improvement, so I bought my paint and didn’t look back. It was an easy weekend project and makes the exterior of our home look new!
As I was browsing online, I found this refinishing idea from InMyOwnStyle.com. Her before and after pictures were amazing, and since I LOVE to paint, I decided to go for it! When I told Mr. Saver it was only going to cost me $31.00 to refinish the fixtures, instead of the $150.00+ to replace them, he was totally on board too!
So here’s the step-by-step to remove rust and Refinish Outdoor Light Fixtures the frugal way!
Step 1: Gather Supplies
- SOS Pads: $1.88
- Benjamin Moore Molten Metallics paint (I used Bronze, but they also have Silver and other colors): $22.99/Quart
- Paint Thinner (since you’re working with an oil based paint): $5.97
- Cheap Paint Brush: $1.00
Step 2: Be Amazed at Savings!
- Project Total: $31.84 – VS. – Buying new outdoor light fixtures: $150.00+
Step 3: Clean Fixtures with SOS Pads, warm water, and paper towels
Step 4: Tape Around Fixtures & Remove Glass (if possible)
- I used regular masking tape
- I chose to remove the glass so I could paint easier without accidentally painting on my glass. Plus, I can clean them while I have them out.
Step 5: Paint
- Paint thin coats (I did one coat, but you may decide on 2). You can literally see the cracked metal effect occur as it dries!
- Don’t paint in the rain…um, not like I did this or anything… (I checked radar and no rain. Started painting and then it rained on me. The neighbors thought I was a goofball, I’m sure).
- I’d never used oil based paint before, so I was kind of nervous. It dried much faster than I expected. It was very easy to clean my paint brush with the paint thinner…um, since I kind of had to stop painting mid-project because of rain…
Step 6: Admire Your New Fixtures
- Bask in the Glory of Knowing You Just Saved about $120.00!!
Total Time: 2-3 Hours
It looks very pretty. Nice change for it:)
We were so glad it worked. Kept us from buying new fixtures! Thanks for stopping by.
Ah I love this! I love all types of lanterns though. I’m stopping by from SITS & I’m a new follower. I hope your having a great Satyrday!
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Thanks for stopping by Leslie. I’ll go checkout your site!
We did this recently as well, and I couldn’t believe the difference it made in the look of our home – I highly recommend doing this!
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We were shocked it worked so well and saved us money as well!
What a great idea! I am pinning this – for some reason one of our our garage lights has faded and rusted while the other didn’t. Redoing both of them would be a nice little project.
Thanks, Fawn! It was a pretty easy project and makes such a huge difference. Enjoy!
I never even knew these outdoor metallics existed! I may have to do some refinishing of out own.
The finished project looks great!
We didn’t either until we read about it. This saved us from having to buy new fixtures. Thanks for stopping by!