Fade To Black



Lights, Shutters, Door Frame - CHECK!



Brass lights turned black - check! Shutters turned black - check! Storm door frame turned black - CHECK!!!! Thank God for Google and some really talented DIYers that have been posting for years.  How else would I have learned that I could paint my brass outdoor lights ... and shutters ... and the storm door ... and save some serious dollars in the process?


Go-To Guy Working

I've already posted about the lights and shutters. The storm door required some help getting it off and into the basement laboratory...bwahahaha (thanks, Ryan). There certainly was a learning curve. 

I hand-sanded Side 1, painted and was pleased with the result.  Hands ached.


For use on bare metal

On Side 2 I decided to try out my handy-dandy orbital sander....it took it down to bare metal no questions asked! Yikes! Now I had to add a step and use self etching primer before painting. Like I said...learning curve. Side 2 looked so good...so smooth! This is a self-leveling primer and looked great on it's own! It's found in the automotive section at Walmart.



Orbital & Discs



Sigh...so Side 1 had to be redone and let me tell you it required 80 grit sandpaper to get through that new coat of paint! I probably could've used 60 grit and used less discs.  



Two coats coming off

As you can see in the picture, it was quite a job. So thankful for my orbital sander. A wise, hand-saving $40 investment for sure!

Bare Metal

    Finally, down to bare metal! Even
    with 80 grit,it took about 8 discs,
    but well worth the effort.

Primed & Drying

 
Next I sprayed it down with the self-etching primer and let it dry for 24 hours.  I usually overdo the drying time, but as far as I'm
concerned, better safe than sorry!




Prep for Paint
(Still Brass)

    In addition to the door and door frame, the
    hardware and springs needed to be painted as did the
    vinyl molding strips that hold the window in.  I scuffed up
    the paint on the springs with sandpaper and then painted
    black using some black Rustoleum I already had on hand.
    The molding strips were wiped down with mineral spirits
    and I used Krylon Plastic Fusion on them...black, of course.

    However, the brass hardware was a different process. After
    a light sanding, I taped off the "working parts", coated with
    Kleen-Strip Sander Deglosser, let dry and then spray
                                        painted with Rustoleum's Oil Rubbed Bronze.

I actually did the springs, moldings & hardware first as I wanted them to cure for as long as possible before having to endure the weather in New England.

I used a 4 inch roller to paint the door as I didn't want brush strokes. Worked like a charm! There are places that required my 1 inch brush to get the paint on the edges, but that's not going to show.  And the final installed result looks like this!

Traditional Black, Tan & White.....so far!

If I had saved to do replacements:

Lights (2)                $80
Shutters (@ pair)    $75
Storm Door          $250 
Sub-Total             $405
CT Sales Tax       ~ $26
Approx. Total       $431

In reality,  my supplies cost $42.65. A $388 savings! Yikes!  Yes, I had a couple of the supplies needed already on hand.
                                                          

And that is one of the reasons I'm learning to DIY! You know....in addition to the stubborn-hard headed-I'll do it myself, uhm attitude perspective! Now to haunt Habitat's ReStore for two sets of shutters I can paint black for the side of my house!

Kickin' Back, Enjoying Life!

The Storm Door is OFF!!!

Welcome to the last days of Summer! It almost seems that life is busier as an Empty Nester....or I just stay busier to compensate! I've been focused on finishing the facade of the house...though I've allowed myself a great deal of sidetracking procrastinating! So that post will have to wait, but here's a snippet.

The storm door finally came off thanks to my go-to guy, Ryan, and all manner of stuff has been happening to it in my laboratory basement.  What you see is a freshly painted, black frame! Bye-bye wineberry...Hellooooo Black!

This past week was filled with Nipo Time! Yes, my grandson ("Nipo") and his mom, Kara, came up for her sister's wedding. Kara was gracious enough to let me steal them for a couple of days & nights in the midst of the wedding excitement at her family's home.



A few minutes before they arrived at my home, this picture was taken in the car. He was listening to his uncle's music and was falling asleep holding the earbuds on!

A few minutes after they arrived at my home for a sleep over, Nipo & I got right down to business.  WATER FIGHT!! (What can I say? I rock!)

After a quick meal we headed outside for more fun and dessert. S'Mores, of course.

Daddy's Batman Sweatshirt

Since it was chilly, he got to wear the sweatshirt that I cross-stitched a Batman logo on for his Daddy when he was little.

I was so blessed to be able to teach him how to rock crab and cousin Neenie gave him his first fishing lesson....oh yeah...and his first driving lesson on the rider mower and there are way too many photos to use here! Yes, some of you may be breathing a sigh of relief.  That's okay.  Been there. For more photos, visit me on Facebook!

However, there are a couple more photos that pertain to DIYing! (I wasn't a total slacker.) I had a plan and it went like this: a six pack of 5" x 7" artist canvases and lots of craft brushes and paints. Here's what happened.

His smile says it all!

     He worked hard. He got into it.

     He had opinions.

     He was in his element.

     Hands & face sticky with paint.

     He made tough decisions on color and form.

     He gave it his all.

Just one more swirl.

He had many techniques and an almost endless variety of brushes and colors to work with.

And he gave his Nonna a most precious gift:

His personal, original artwork. 

Nonna now has a set of six very special paintings to display in her home! Can we have a "Oorah!" for Dollar Store frames?! Perfect, I tell ya'! Seriously. I saw paintings like this at the renowned Mystic Art Festival in August. These?  I know the artist personally and it only cost me $6 for the frames and $2 for the canvases...and they're original paintings not prints!  Life is good.


While I was at it, I also framed (with Dollar Store frames) the set of fish print cards I bought at the art festival.  They're pretty cool, too, even if they are prints and I don't know the artist.

Hope you all are enjoying the last of our Summer days! Leaves are starting to fall (blech), humidity is lifting (woohoo!), great nights for fires (Ahhh), the water is still warm enough for swimming and fishing. Really, it doesn't get much better!

Take time to breathe deeply, be refreshed, and appreciate each of God's blessings He's dropping into your life...you might even miss them at first so look for them...I guarantee they are there. Sometimes it's not winning multi-millions or getting that new job (or a job).  Sometimes it's small, maybe bright and colorful...like six small original paintings.