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wagnerpe

Advice on Painting Fireplace Doors

wagnerpe
11 years ago

My fireplace doors are matte black with shiny brass trim. The doors are in excellent shape and I'm not one to buy something new just because it's a bit dated. I read about painting out the doors with high heat paint, and thought it was a good solution, so I bought some. I painted the brass knobs at the bottom that control the vent and was surprised at how, well, black the bottom looks now. The knobs just disappear. That's fine for the knobs, but what about the rest?

I've looked at countless before and after images of painted fireplace doors and they all have one thing in common. You can see the grate/logs inside the fireplace. My doors have smoked glass and then mesh doors behind the glass. Unless there is a fire burning, you cannot see the inside of the fireplace at all.

Now I'm worried that if I paint out the rest of the brass, it will look too solid black.

Of course, when I took a picture of the fireplace, the flash made it look like you can see through the glass. Is that the way it is with everyone's fireplace?

Should I leave some of the brass just for definition? I wish high heat paint came in a color other than black. How much, if any, brass would you leave?

Before - with brass knobs (sorry for the bad phone pic)

Current - without using flash. I resized in photobucket, not sure what happened.

Comments (8)

  • Saypoint zone 6 CT
    11 years ago

    Rustoleum high heat paint comes in white, almond, green, black and silver, but I don't think I'd use anything but the black. the point of it being black is so it looks sort of like iron, IMO. I've never liked bright brass fireplace doors, and think all black would be an improvement, but that's just my taste.
    Your pics are too small to see any detail about what's behind the glass. Since the glass is smoked, you aren't going to see the firebox whatever the color of the doors. If it looks too dark and featureless to you without the brass, why not put a real or faux plant in front of the doors when it's not in use? Or a small sculpture or other decorative object (or two or three) that you can easily move to the use the FP? Some FP tools (not bright brass) would make the hearth more interesting.

  • wagnerpe
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I have no idea what those sizes mean on photobucket. I guess I picked one that was too small.

    I think I'm overthinking this. Black is just more modern than shiny brass and if I were to replace it, i would most certainly replace it with an all black model.

  • design_wotcha
    11 years ago

    i agree - all black on these is the way to go for a more up to date look. could you leave the doors and mesh open when not in use and stage the fireplace with some logs? if the doors don't stay open by themselves maybe a basket of wood on one side and a sculpture on the other would keep them open.

  • caminnc
    11 years ago

    I think the all black will look great but if that is too dark they make really good looking Oil Rubbed Bronze in high heat.

  • wagnerpe
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I finished it up this morning and I think it looks good. I will say that the high heat paint is VERY thin. I had drip marks that I had to sand down this morning before applying a second coat. I was much more careful with the second coat to double check for any paint pooling at the bottom of the painted areas. I also used a foam brush for the top coat because my first coat showed a lot of brush marks. Overall, with a new set of doors costing $400 - $1,500, I'm very happy with the inexpensive change.

    Before:

    After:

  • caminnc
    11 years ago

    Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. It looks really great but I can't beleive you didn't spray paint it. That is how it is usually done. Stove Bright and Rustoleum both make the high heat paint in spray cans. They say it is possible to get a smoke burn off the first time you put a fire in the fireplace but then after that it should not smoke anymore. Let us know how it works. Great job!

  • wagnerpe
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I saw the spray variety, but I'm the world's worst spray painter. I wouldn't have trusted myself to do that in a million years. Thanks for the heads up on the spoke burn - that would have freaked me out if I hadn't known.