Anyone ever painted their own appliances? My wife and I are building a new casa de Pork and she who makes the dinner wants black appliances. We found a fridge for the right amount of $$ that would work but it is white. I was thinking, I could rough up the surface with a Scotchbrite pad, remove the doors, mask everything off, and then shoot it with single stage enamel paint. I could probably use Duplicolor. Or get my local paint shop to inject some cans for me; I even have a decent spray gun. What say you guys and gals?
I don't know if it is still available, but some one used to make appliance spray paint cans in a bunch of colors including gloss black. I think it was krylon. the stuff worked pretty good too. I painted a dirt bike engine with it... but that was many years ago.
I have a buddy who went hog wild after discovering appliance paint in a spray can. He did no prep work other than cleaning and sprayed many imperfections. His dishwasher looks good other than his masking job (went from white to black), his mini-fridge looks like poo, went tan on that and I don't think he cleaned it before spraying.
In my opinion all his stuff ended up being 5+ foot paint jobs, but I would bet anyone with good patience and prep skills could make it look nicer. The stuff he did is still on after about a year, so I think its stuck good. I don't know about scotchbrite pads, maybe just wiping down with acetone or similar? The rubber gaskets must be removed as they do not hold the paint.
What did your buddy do about the handles?
I painted my fridge and the dishwasher door with Krylon appliance white years ago. They came out very nice and have held up well. Just like any other paint job, the key is good preparation and technique.
The handles should come off, but you may have to disassemble the doors to get at the screws. Gently push the gasket to one side to look for screws that fasten the inner panel to the door.
Edit: I'll bet a nickel that after about six months she's gonna be real tired of black appliances....
"They Say" that Rustoleum Appliance Paint, as found at Home Depot, makes an excellent gun finish for home built AK-47's (AKM's). "They Say" it is really tough and as good as any of the expensive gun finishes, and comes in a variety of colors. I'm thinking bright orange or red would be a cool color for an AKM pistol.
Why do you say she will tire of black appliances?
porksboy wrote:
Why do you say she will tire of black appliances?
A friend of mine went through the same thing - his wife wanted black appliances, so they bought all new ones. Within a year, she decided she hated them, and they had to get all new appliances again. I think it may be one of those things that looks cool in the magazines, but gets kind of overbearing when it's in your own kitchen.
I see no reason to tire of black appliances. Ive had a black fridge for years, wife has since converted the rest of the appliances to black/stainless. Goes well with our checkerboard black/white tile floor, black walls, and white cabinets. 
I'm planning on converting my dish washer to stainless. Got a stainless fridge and now I want the washer to match. Going to get the local sheetmetal shop to run me a piece of flat stainless stock through their timesaver and replace the black insert with the SS.
Datsun1500 wrote:
Have you pulled out the black insert yet, Many of them are stainless on the other side.
Hmmm - I'll have to check. Thanks!
Datsun1500 wrote:
Have you pulled out the black insert yet, Many of them are stainless on the other side.
Theres a grassroots tip for you!
In our current house when the fridge went the harvest gold was replaced with white. When the harvest gold stove crapped out it was replaced with white. I got a wild hair and pulled the panel out of the dish washer, Yep you guessed it WHITE 
New dish washers dont have a removable panel. If they did I wouldnt have passed on a sweet deal on a new white one. I have a sheet of black powder coated steel in the shop that could be cut to fit.
A girl I work with did her hubby's beer fridge in "John Deere" paint, complete with logo. It looks really cool :)
Black appliances are very trendy.
Avocado was trendy once, too!
White never goes out of style.
If you can paint a $100 used fridge black, and Mrs. Porksboy happy, I'd go for it. If you have to go to Sears and fork over a grand for one - I'd get something that will stand the test of time.
Off-topic: freezer on the bottom RULES!
porksboy wrote:
What did your buddy do about the handles?
The mini-fridge and diswasher had no handles. For the buttons on the dishwasher he just stuck some tape over them, for the mini-fridge he just painted everything, including the gaskets.
Those $100 used refridgerators may not be the bargain you think. I had a beer fridge in the shop that I bought new in 1982 or 1983 from Sears. It finally died on me and I replaced it with a new smaller frost free fridge from Home Depot for about $300, their smallest, cheapest frost free fridge. I swear my electricity bill dropped $20/month. Oh, it's white, with stickers.
bludroptop wrote:
Off-topic: freezer on the bottom RULES!
Ergonomically, I agree. However, they are inherrently less efficient than a standard top-freezer model.
So if you're into that sort of thing (reducing energy consumption) then it's something to think about.
Clem
ClemSparks wrote:
bludroptop wrote:
Off-topic: freezer on the bottom RULES!
Ergonomically, I agree. However, they are inherrently less efficient than a standard top-freezer model.
So if you're into that sort of thing (reducing energy consumption) then it's something to think about.
Clem
I disagree. My parents have a bottom drawer freezer. What a pain in the ass. In order to get ice, I have to open the drawer, and move a shelf out of the way. That's unless the stack of frozen pizzas and vegetables has fallen over, in which case I have to move them too.
Side-by-Side FTW!
On a related note, has anyone successfully painted the grates that sit atop a gas range? Ours were originally gray, but have deteriorated over the years. My wife wants new ones, but replacements are upwards of $40 each! And that’s times four.
So…would some form of black, hi-temp paint work? My concern would be accidentally creating fumes not particularly conducive to indoor habitation.
Any suggestions?
If you lack a sense of humor, please skip this one......
Why does the bride wear white?
Because the dishwasher should match the 'fridge and stove !
(ducking and running from the room..............)
I thought you were going for a curtain matching the drapes thing.
(also ducking and running from room.............)
on the topic of paint, rustoleum makes a specific appliance epoxy based paint. corner carvers had a thread about using it in automotive applications (they love it for cages) it is alot more durable and the only downside is a longer drying time. I would hunt that stuff down.
Last winter i worked at a sears selling appliances. The line they told us is that bottom freezers are more energy efficient. (less need to move air at equalibrium, colder on bottom, hot air rises.)
Hess, I believe it on the energy bill! i need to think about ditching a few fridges for exactly that reason myself. for even better energy efficiency, get a non-autodefrost model, they use even less energy (but the autodefrost is worth the PITA savings to me though)
lesson on appliances, AVOID any maytag from the last 10 years. 80+% of people with newer appliances failing coming in to buy new were puking maytags, I kid not!
I sell appliances right now.
90% of Maytags, at least brand new, are exactly the same as Whirlpool. Exactly.
I would say yes to painting the appliances - lots of people do it and are plenty happy. I still think white is the way to go long term as it will be around forever and stays looking nice for a long time. Stainless sucks to maintain and will die like a fad, and black is too dark for my taste.
As for the range's grates, no you can't exactly just paint those - they are usually ceramic- or porcelain- coated, as it's a high wear area obviously. Either buy new ones, a new range, or live with it.
Oh, and spending more for new appliances to get something that lasts longer? That's just silly - nothing they sell now will last anywhere near the length of time you currently expect it to. Believe me.
I am blessed/cursed with the frugality of my German fore fathers. I will pay the least amount I possibly can, then modify it to suit my needs or purposes or just live with it. Drives my Italian wife crazy. 
