You can get appliances painted at some auto-body shops. To get a really good job you have to strip off any trim and the sealing gaskets, which isn't too hard a job to do. I would re-install brand new door gaskets afterward.

Keep in mind though, that a refrigerator that old is an energy hog compared to newer, more efficient models. In some areas you can get a pretty good rebate by buying a new energy-star appliance and taking an old one out of service, so compare the cost of a new one with the cost of refurbishing one that costs a bomb to run.

Molly~

Look in the spray paint section, you'll see Krylon makes something called "Appliance Epoxy." I got some to use inside a vintage medicine cabinet I'm refurbishing. My BF says he used a similar product to do a fridge brown once (yep, in the 70s), and that the paint job looked great, and lasted a lot longer than the fridge did. Not sure how many coats/cans it'd take, but it would be a cheaper option than automotive paint. Actually, I have seen some "automotive" spray paint in there with the other paints too.

I kind of agree that maybe you should think about replacing it soon. If you have a Habitat for Humanity store in your area you should definitely check there for used but still good appliances. You might be able to find a younger fridge for CHEAP. Also... Craigs List!

Thank you both. I know this darn thing is an energy hog and when I had Sears in to repair my stove he said my fridge uses 10 times more electricity than the newer ones do. My utility company has a programme where they will give you some money to get rid of your old refridgerator but until I can afford to buy a new one or good used one I can't take advantage of it. One day.

I guess I won't paint it then because why put money into something that isn't going to last much longer.

Thanks again.

Anne

Just wanted to chime in I painted an avocado green fridge once. During college years and broke, got it an estate auction for $75 (it was big and really nice, but oh so green!). I got it back home, took it apart, cleaned it well, taped plastic over door opening to prevent drift from going inside, taped off any metal I could not remove easily (you can remove a lot of the chrome pieces if you can get to the screws easily). I primed/painted it with appliance paint (spray) from hardware store. Used it for a couple years before I moved (left it there) and had no issues with paint.

~Or~ ask around (the store might not tell you) because Sears has a scratch and dent store about 45 minutes from me. They surely have other locations. New neighbor across the street had some very nice (quite costly) Kenmore appliances she was showing me. She paid only a few hundred for top of the line, flaw (she said a ding) was on the side of the stove where cabinets hid it. Fridge it was on the back. (Some were worse, she said she looked for pieces that scratches or dents would be hidden.) My local Sears will not tell customers where the scratch/dent store is (so you buy new from them I suppose). Other appliance dealers near me have a 'scratch and dent' room too. That might be an option? Also, do check auctions and Craig's. Auctionzip.com or estatesales.net migth have something in your area.

Anne,
My DS works in a hardware store. I'll have to ask him tonight. I believe there is a special appliance paint.

On a different note, with the right kind of paint, you can paint almost anything. My old house was a GREEN yucky mobile home from the 70's. ExH wouldn't let me paint it inside or out. Guess what I did after I divorced him? Yup! Painted the outside a nice cream color with chocolate trim. Still looks good some 20 years later.

Painted the dark panelling in the living room a nice sand color and stencilled ivy with gold trim at the top. Painted the kitchen a soft butter cream yellow with Southwest stencils at the top. DS wanted his room white with royal blue trim. DD wanted hers a medium lavendar-grape purple. Can't remember the bathroom color. Later, after DD moved out and DGS moved in, we painted the room a pretty aqua and added a wallpaper border at the top, making the room a more boyish fishing theme. Never did get our bedroom done - still had the dark panelling.

how about painting the INside of the fridge? i have some old rusty spots from some ding-ed areas and was wondering if that Appliance Epoxy will be safe for the food inside of the fridge? paint might be better than having rust floating around... any ideas?

I painted my fridge in my last house. It was almond color and I painted it white. It absolutely turned out fantastic - however, I was going from almond to white, not green to white, so the leap wasn't as far in shades. I used appliance paint from Lowe's or Menard's, I can't remember. It cost about $15.00 for 2 cans of the stuff and I barely had enough, in fact, I didn't do much of the top of the fridge knowing it wouldn't be seen. It really ended up looking up new again. However, we wore masks and taped off our cabinets and floors, and doorways to other rooms. Even so, the paint floated in the air, I found specs on my piano, which was in the room next to the kitchen. And the paint was everywhere on us, inside our noses and everything, even though we wore masks. We did it in winter time, so we couldn't go outside with the fridge.
Another thought is this. Have you looked at yard sales for a fridge? When we moved, we wanted another one to put in the garage for extra beverages and a place to store more freezer items. We looked for a couple months and found on at a yard sale that was only 4 or 5 years, and it cost us $200. It is in fantastic shape. Look around and check the ads. You might really be surprised, and I would rather do that than go to the trouble of painting one. If you hear of one, just make sure you are early for the sale. The good ones go fast. My husband got to the sale a half hour early and while asking the guy a couple of questions about it, the guy was getting other offers. Good luck.

Has anyone had any luck painting a stainless steel fridge? I'd like to have it done at an auto body shop, but I'm not sure if you can get a smooth finish over the brushed look.

Thanks!

There won't be a problem getting a smooth finish. When I am painting cars I use a heavy build type primer when I have sand it out to a smooth finish.

"...almost 30 year old..."

Might be time for a new fridge.
Old units are very inefficient compared to newer ones.