How To Take Paint Off Brick Fireplace – Update: This is one of our most popular posts, but there have been several updates to this project since this post was first published. Thanks for reading!
One thing we noticed when we first saw this home was the painted brick fireplace. We love the fireplace but paint will be the first thing.
How To Take Paint Off Brick Fireplace
Arts and Crafts-style homes and interiors are popular in the Syracuse University neighborhood. But equally popular are the painted brick and stained wood walls, paneling and doors that add their appeal to arts and crafts homes. My personal favorite is when the previous owner painted the metal damper handles.
How To Paint A Brick Fireplace // Diy From Lovely Indeed
We knew painted brick would be difficult to repair, so we searched like crazy. As it turns out, there are many lessons to be learned
We didn’t really get a tutorial on how to do our first project – but we did find some inspiration on the 1914 Foursquare blog and their fireplace restoration project. We put together a “plan” and just… got started.
At least we knew we had to apply a chemical paint remover first. So we headed to our new favorite Home Depot, grabbed about 4 tubs of paint remover and a bunch of other stuff and got to work.
Side note: Since the blog was just an idea when we started this project, all photos are phone photos, taken at night, in horrible lighting. More good photos are on the way.
Stripping Paint From Old Fireplace Last Step
First, we prepared the space: removed the furniture, removed the covers, put down the plastic tarp, and taped the floor and walls. We made sure to create an airtight seal where the tarp protects the hardwood.
Although the mantel is removable, you can see where the previous owner painted the walls around the mantel without removing it. You’ll see many variations on this general “lazy penalty” theme in future projects.
To be fair, Pete applied the first coat of Multistrip when I went out to dinner with a friend. One! But he used a cheap paintbrush to just “paint” the entire fire pit.
Multitrack I don’t expect. I thought it would be more pasty, but it has a gelatinous texture – I think the technical term is “gluppy”. Spreading is easiest with a brush.
Paint Fireplace Brick
This was probably the hardest part. Seriously it’s hard to resist scratching when the paint is practically bubbling. Are we weird? Yes of course.
After about 2 days of letting the multiband work its magic, we put on our worst clothes and started scratching.
I won’t lie: the process took several hours. We scratched methodically, trying to get as much paint as humanly possible out of the bricks and mortar. We tossed the leftover paint into a trash bag and as we got more tired, we missed the trash bag and dropped jelly-like drops of paint.
Also: We bought nitrile gloves to protect our skin, but the Multistripe melted them off our hands. Since we will be using gloves in future projects, we didn’t notice it.
How To Paint Your Brick Fireplace Black And Never Look Back
Once we finished scraping, we cleaned the brick with a metal brush and hot water. Finally, we took a sponge and warm water and gently washed off whatever was left on the brick. Then…
Thicker We learned that the thicker we made the multilayer tape, the easier it was to scratch. We let it sit for about 2 days and then repeat the whole scrubbing and scrubbing process.
Although the change was not as dramatic as we would have liked, we were happy with it. We removed at least 3 coats of paint, including one coat of pink paint, and I hate you. Pink!
Pete then went in and scraped the paint off the bottom row of bricks. Be careful where you get water on hardwood. They looked like the rest.
Street Flea Style: Farrow & Ball Masonry Paint Review
The final coat of paint is a gray off-white color that is not affected by the multicoat strip. We think it’s an oil paint, maybe even an exterior paint. How did we decide to remove it? We will discuss this in detail in Part 2. Wondering how to paint a brick fireplace to make it more modern? I’m sharing how I painted a 1960s brick fireplace and mantel and gave it a rustic French look.
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Our home has a freestanding brick fireplace with attached planter which is the first thing you see when you enter. There’s actually another similar one in the basement, but I haven’t tackled it yet. keep watching
Anyway, since we moved into the house in 2006, I have lived with him and tried to accept him. It’s a long time to stare at something that won’t drive you crazy.
Got Ugly Brick? How To Paint Fireplace Mantel
I’m a purist at heart and wanted to keep the original feel of the house and try to like it. But recently I decided, caught my breath and painted again.
The back of the fireplace is in our kitchen and I love the unpainted look of it. It added warmth and texture that made the space feel cozy.
But it really brightens up the kitchen and my appliances look great against the light brick.
For our brick, I wanted an old world, French country look, accented with brick texture. Details for this fall-decorated version of a painted brick fireplace can be found here: Painted Brick Fireplace with Fall Decor
The Best Paint Colours To Go With A Brick Fireplace
Don’t you just love how easy and affordable it is to change colors? Here are some other posts you might like:
Nothing really looked good against the brick. I tried many colors and tones. Seasonal decorating, especially spring, is always a real challenge to make it work.
My spring decor is looking great here now. Any color looks good against light brick. You can see more of this spring’s looks and get details here: Spring Floral Mantle & Vintage Finds.
Now it’s light and bright and the room feels even bigger. Here are our fall decorations. I can’t wait to decorate it for the holidays. (To see more of our fall mantel decor and get these free vintage oak prints, go to: Fall Mantel with Free Printable Vintage Oak Prints.)
How To Paint A Brick Fireplace Yourself
How to Paint a Brick Fireplace What type of paint should I use on a red brick fireplace?
For durability and easy cleanup, you’ll want to paint your brick fireplace with something other than flat paint.
A shell, satin or semi-gloss finish allows you to clean the surface when dirty. High quality interior acrylic paint will be used for this.
For my project I used some paint in the garage. This was Benjamin Moore’s shell finish in White Dove.
Steps To Whitewashing Your Brick Fireplace
Eggshells are great because they can be washed without being shiny. Flat paint or chalk paint is not washable and I personally don’t care for semi-gloss paint.
Priming your brick fireplace before painting is not a technique I use to allow the brick to “breathe”. As long as the brick is clean and completely dry, you should use standard acrylic paint.
If you wash the bricks first, it is important to let them dry completely. I recommend waiting at least 24 to 48 hours after washing before applying color.
Note: If you are not using this technique and will be completely covering your brick fireplace with paint, I recommend priming it first. You need to use a high quality 100% acrylic primer.
I Added Faux Brick Wallpaper To Our Fireplace
A quarter pint should be enough for most projects, and if you only have a small fireplace, you’ll probably get by with a pint.
For this rustic French technique, I added a little paint, maybe a cup and a half, to my handy paint cup and diluted it to about 1 part water to 4 parts paint.
Tip: If you’re not sure how opaque you want the paint, start with more water than I used. If you decide that’s what you want, you can always make it more opaque by adding more color.
Once you’ve mixed the paint, you’re ready to apply it to the brick. I used this technique to paint my red brick fireplace.
Brick Fireplace Makeover: You Won’t Believe The After
First, if there is grime or dirt on the brick, clean it. Use a vacuum cleaner to remove ash or dust. And if there are dark spots, you want to remove as many of them as possible with a wire brush and a strong cleaner. Our fireplace was not used much, so there was minimal soot on it.
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