painting the trim on sliding mirrored closet doors

[creamsoda]

We have mirrored closet doors that slide on a track. They are in good shape, except the trim is gold and we'd prefer a brushed silver or shiny chrome look. I looked into replacement doors and they're in the 300$ range.

I've gotten mixed opinions from contractors about whether the existing trim could just be painted out.

Has anyone done this? Any other suggestions? Changing up just the trim is an option but then we'd have to lug the doors there and back - they are 8' tall. Cost would still be about $200.

[Mr Nobody]

We've done it. It looks okay. Obviously you can tell its not the factory spray paint close up, but from afar just having the white instead of the dated gold/brass colour made a huge difference. Brushed silver okay, but where are you going to get paint that looks like shiny chrome?

[creamsoda]

but where are you going to get paint that looks like shiny chrome?

I have no idea! I'd have to go hunting the DIY stores to see if it even exists.

Did you have to sand (didn't it scratch?) or prime at all to get the white paint to stick to the trim? Did you use spray paint or a brush?

[Mr Nobody]

No sanding. Not sure if it was primed (my wife did it) but to be safe I would. Knowning her, I would guess she used a foam brush. :) It was just regular gloss or semi-gloss latex paint we had left over.

[Maymybonneliveforever]

Since Mr. Nobody has done it before it sounds like it's doable.

I may be doing the same thing except, I will light sand with about 180/240 grit.Go with a primer coat which can be tinted the same colour as the final coat and then apply final coat with either a good quality brush or as Mr. Nobody has metioned.....roller. You will get different effects therefore decide which one you prefer. Obviously the roller will be quicker but then again you can get different textured rollers for different effects.

Make sure you tape around the mirror and remove the doors to accomplish a better finish. The bottom rollers usually snap out with a slotted screw driver and the tops come out once the doors are angled either toward you or away, I can't remember. I believe it's towards you. Be gentle not to crack the mirror since bad luck may commeth.


Good Luck and don't cheap out on poor quality paint since you only need about a pint anyway.

[jed]

If you want to go crazy, take the doors off, scuff/clean the trim to be painted with a scotch brite, clean with a decent pre-paint cleaner (I'd use something pretty industrial myself) and spray the trim.

[Mr Nobody]

Yup, doors were removed (unhung). Pop off the bottom and then tilt them out about 30 degrees then lift up to remove them from the track.

Green tape was used.

I don't think she used a small roller. She uses foam brushes versus bristled brushes for almost everything...always ignorning my recommendations. :)

It was my wife's project, so don't blame me if it doesn't come out as good as you expect. :) But IMO, it looked good from afar. Just the colour change made a huge difference.

We had the awful faux wood doors (not even mirror) so she wallpapered that. Looked pretty good.

I would have just changed out the doors and rails for new ones, but she wanted to do this cause it was cheaper. :)

[creamsoda]

Thanks all for the suggestions. I figure if we try and and it doesn't turn out, we'll go with new doors. Hoping I have enough time to get it figured out before the contractor is outta here. I'll report results if I proceed with it.

[creamsoda]

.... don't cheap out on poor quality paint since you only need about a pint anyway.


Any idea if I can use regular Benjamin Moore latex eggshell paint? Then maybe I would do the same colour as our hallway walls which is a light silver grey.

[Mr Nobody]

Any idea if I can use regular Benjamin Moore latex eggshell paint? Then maybe I would do the same colour as our hallway walls which is a light silver grey.

I would think a more glossy finish would look better, but I guess that's a matter of opinion. The paint you mentioned should be fine. Like I said, we used regular old paint we had lying around. Just need a few coats to make it all even.

[rotjong]

I did this this past summer our sliding mirror closet doors were also gold/brass
I taped off the glass part with newspaper, sanded the brass trim area with a fine sand paper and got a spraycan out and went to town. and I have to say it looks pretty darn good, If you do have some over spray on the mirror just remove it with nail polish remover.