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maanda_gw

What to do with this lamp?

maanda
14 years ago

Hi - I've been lurking for awhile, but this is my first post. I have two of these buffet lamps, which I like, but the colour is off. They are a silver colour right now, but I'd like them to be darker - more towards an oil-rubbed bronze look. Is there anything I can do to them? My mother-in-law mentioned maybe something that can be rubbed on? Any ideas?

Comments (10)

  • justgotabme
    14 years ago

    Your mother in law may have been talking about rub n buff, linked below. I think one of the big spray paint companies made an oil rubbed bronze at one time.

    Make sure to enlarge colors on the page linked below.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Rub n Buff

  • debbimc
    14 years ago

    Have you thought of spray painting a black or mahogany & then wiping down with type of stain in the bronze, etc? I have done this & it worked really well.

  • maanda
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    justgotabme - Thanks for that link! It's certianly worth a try for that price.
    debbimc - I originally thought of spray paint, but wasn't sure how I would get it so that it wasn't a solid colour. Thanks for the idea!

  • greenthumbfish
    14 years ago

    For a "dark oil rubbed bronze" finish, my experience of the last couple of weeks of researching and testing is:

    INDOOR: Krylon Brushed Metallic (color = oil rubbed bronze), on clean finish, no sanding necessary.

    OUTDOOR: Rust-o-leum "Rust Reformer" (color = black, as primer after sanding lightly) and Rust-o-leum "Metallic" (dark bronze), although I did paint one indoor thing with this and it's great!

    Funny, I'm just about to paint that lamp's shorter sister :-) I'm using the Krylon.

  • Arapaho-Rd
    14 years ago

    I just finished spray painting a 25 yr old brass floor lamp with Krylon Metallic Oil Rubbed Bronze. First, I sanded lightly the entire lamp with a 150 grit sandpaper. Made sure to wipe it down completely to get rid of dust. I had a can of Rustoleum primer so I used that. Then sprayed on the Krylon and it turned out great! The bronze color has a slight sheen to it so it really looks like a metal finish. Beautiful paint - I can't say enough good things about it!

  • Robbi D.
    14 years ago

    I highly recommend the rub n' buff if you just want to change the tone of the color. I had a gold picture frame that was too bright. I put the rub n' buff on it (a dark red color) and it made it more of an antique look and took away the shininess of it. I've spray painted a lamp, too if you want to change the color dramatically (I went from polished brass to almost black or ORB).

  • maanda
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Do you think that if I tried the Rub n'Buff, but didn't like the looks, I could paint later? The description says it's wax based.

  • straitlover
    14 years ago

    If it's wax based, I wonder if Goof Off would take it off if you didn't like it? (Wow, that was a lot of "f"s - LOL!) It's supposed to remove crayon, and that's wax based.

  • nicole__
    14 years ago

    Sophistocated Finishes is "rubbed" on. Sold at Michaels craft store. If you find a finish you like it's worth a try. Others here recommended it to me. It was easy to use.

    Here is a link that might be useful: For the look & feel of aged metal....see link..

  • Arapaho-Rd
    14 years ago

    I've also used shoe polish to darken different finishes. I've used black on silver finishes, brown on gold, etc. Several applications and longer drying times to get the look I wanted.