How to Paint Your Fireplace White

It started with me wanting to mount our current TV to the fireplace so I could swivel it from side to side and view it in the kitchen. JR decided before purchasing a mount we should probably buy a new TV – obviously. (See our tape marks from us debating on what size we want to get!) We decided right away we would paint it since we aren’t huge fans of that brick color and a portion of it was already painted white. I figured now would be the time to paint it so we wouldn’t have to take the TV mount off to paint it later. I read a couple articles on painting brick and a lot of them stressed priming it first and that the entire process took a lot of time. I decided to take it on and after 4 hours, fifty bucks, and a little sweat equity – I had a bright white fireplace!

I headed on down to Lowe’s and found the primer the articles suggested but it was a whopping $46 – I hadn’t even bought paint yet! I decided to look at some exterior paints and found the Valspar “The Perfect White” exterior paint. If anyone has purchased white paint before you know how stressful it can be. They all look the same but also so different. I decided to try it out – for only $29 what could it hurt. It is also paint + primer so that meant I would save about $40! I also grabbed a masonry paint roller, tray, and some painter’s tape (I got a fancy kind but regular works too!) and went home and got to work!

Supplies

• Damp washcloth
• Valspar “The Perfect White” Paint + Primer Exterior Paint (I got the satin finish)
• Masonry Paint Roller
• Paint Tray
• Painter’s Tape 

Start by wiping down the surface with a clean damp washcloth. I didn’t use any cleaner because I didn’t want to mess with the paint not adhering.

Tape off the outer edge of the fireplace and any other areas you do not want painted. I picked up one of these handy-dandy tape applicators. It worked great but you have to buy specific refills once you run out so just be aware that a regular sized roll won’t work to refill later.

Get to painting! I did the first coat pretty thin so I wouldn’t have sags. For the first coat don’t worry about getting full coverage in all of the grout areas – the brick surface is the most important. You will still be able to see the brick through the paint – that is ok. Depending on how big your fireplace is – if you start at one end and work your way to the other the first section should be dry by the time you are finished.

Start on the second coat and be a little more detail oriented. You should notice how much more coverage you get on this coat. I think the first coat helps the second coat stick a little better.

Wait about 10-15 minutes for the second coat to dry. I grabbed a snack and started the OJ Simpson Nexflix series.

 

For the third coat make sure you get all of the missed spots and the grout areas really well. I noticed the color had a lot more coverage on this coat then the other two.

 

Let it dry and check for missed spots! I had plenty of paint left so depending on how dark your brick is you should still be able to get 2-3 more coats out of the gallon of paint.

That’s it! I wanted to style it all cute for the final photo but that awful navy wall behind it didn’t inspire me too much. I can’t wait to start on the kitchen/great room renovation so I’ll have a cute fireplace to style for the holidays!