My girlfriend has a home that was built in the 70's with a brick surround. We would like to paint it white and would like to know if there is a special paint for brick, or are we ok using Kilz and then white. What type of white would you recommend? Eggshell? Satin?

Thanks.

 

Clean it off, scrub it down with TSP/water mix, and make sure all loose mortar/dust/etc. are removed. Prime it with an acrylic masonry primer, like THIS ONE.

Finish it with a latex top coat. I think satin looks best on these, a subtle shine to make the brick stand out.

 

Where do you purchase TSP? Depot? Etc?

 

Either Depot or paint store. Tri-sodium Phosphate
Dirt-ex will work good too.

 

Thanks. Also, how well will the paint stick? I don't want to end up going DOH! Especially since it's not my home.

 

If the proper preparation is taken, it should stick fine. Roll it on with a 3/4" nap or bigger if needed.

 

We didn't even clean or prime ours, and it turned out great. If you clean and prime, your's will more than likely turn out better, and we are so pleased with our "new" white fireplace. It is well worth the effort!

Oh, we used a semi gloss. Satin would look good as well. We used semi gloss to help with cleaning - wipes down easily.

 

Since it is a fireplace surround, do we need to use masonary paint?

 

It is brick correct?
Brick = masonry

 

Yes, real brick masonary. "Inside the home"

 

Inside or out, masonry primer is the best product for the application. It will fill many of the tiny pores, and bond well to the mortar and brick facing.

 

Inside or out, masonry primer is the best product for the application. It will fill many of the tiny pores, and bond well to the mortar and brick facing.

It doesn't have to be used, but its the best option.

 

I guess I might have been a bit off with my last question.

The actual paint, is there and should that be masonary paint?

 

When you say 'actual paint', I assume you are referring to the 'finish coat'. Only masonry paint required would be the primer, then you can apply any top coat you want for the finish sheen/color. A good example would be B.M. AquaGlo or Sherwin's Classic 99 Satin.

 

Thanks for your help Prow.

I used TSP today and primed it. Looks great so far. I'll post pics when I'm done "Before/After"

Thanks again

 

Please do! I would be very interested in seeing Before/After shots as I have been trying to decide on what to do with my 70's fireplace..... And Good luck!

 

Sorry for delaying. I've moved on to painting the rest of that room. I will make it a point to post pictures tomm "Monday" Prowallguy was right in what he was saying about how to do it. Thanks!

Make sure you use a masonary primer with a 3/4 nap roller. I foolishly started painting it in the grooves with my brush, and then said, hey what the heck, why not just try rolling it all. Well, it worked. I only ended up using the brush for certain areas, but it sure saved a heck of a lot of time by rolling it. It will get into the mortored areas, you just have to push a little harder.

I used two coats of primer and two coats of paint. I had to go back here and there with a brush to spot prime some areas that didn't take all of the way with the primer, but it worked like a charm.

It totally changed the look of the room.

I'll be adding a custom mantel to it also in the next week. I'll be doing a paint and glaze finish. The mantel will be white with a glaze brushed on and struck off in certain areas with the color being the same color as the wall to tie it all together.

 

Ru funky, another option if you don't like the painted brick look would be to add furing strips to the brick and drywall over it. You can apply granite or tile to the hearth.

If you drywall it, if you're handy with wood, you can apply moldings or even panel the whole face of it. I wanted to panel hers, but she's not looking to stay here and the area she lives, wouldn't warrant getting that back when she goes to sell it. Even with the "To Die For" mantel, she won't get the money back out, as it's just a "Honey Do" list item.

Painting the fireplace will brighten it up and give a refreshing look to the room. You might also want to consider changing the wall paint color too. She had a green color with the sand texture and we changed it to a taupy color. "Earth Tone" I also repainted the baseboards too, so that gave it a nice, new look also.

If you have some pictures you can post of your room, I'll see if I can give you some ideas to spice it up.

You can create a photo album on Yahoo Pictures and post the link in here.

 

Sorry it took so long, but here they are

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/creati...bum?.dir=/6363

You will also find that when you clean the brick with TSP, there will be little crystals in the mortor. Take a brush and brush them off, or it will get into your paint. You won't get them all off, but you want to get as much as you can.

 

Wow looks good! Funny, my walls are the same color as your after pics too (muted gold) .. I'll post some pics in a bit...

Edit: Here you go...

http://img240.exs.cx/img240/1417/fireplace25nv.jpg

 

Thanks!

A Lava Lamp! Whoo Hoo!

Have you thought about adding a nice piece of Art Work above and put Eyeball Lights above your fireplace in the ceiling? Yes, you'd have some drywall and electrical work to do.

Looks like you have some sut on the face of your fireplace too. TSP should take a lot of that out.


If you're a handy person, you could make a mantel that would be a bit thicker and sit a little lower than the one you currently have. Remember to always stay at least 9" away from the opening on the sides and the top with any wood.

You could also add some crown molding too.

A nice sconce light on each side of your fireplace would be a nice touch also.

Another idea would be to make picture frame squares above the fireplace. Take a molding that is about 1-1/2" wide and make 3 rectangles. One big one for the center and two smaller ones off to the right and left, equally spacing them apart side by side and top and bottom.

 

You can apply your primer and paint, then rough scotch brite pad and rub off the paint and primer to expose areas of the brick below.

I don't know if it will work, but it might be worth a try to get more of a distressed look.

What about making a bookcase for the left side?