A few years ago ML and I used some of the money we received at Christmas to buy light switch and electrical plate covers for the downstairs. Before, they were the typical builder grade beige plastic covers. Now, they are all stylish with a satin nickel finish.
When we upgraded them we bought enough for the entire downstairs (minus the kitchen) in case they were discontinued if we ever decided to purchase more.
So naturally when we started painting the master bedroom I wanted to rid the house of all our beige covers. Since we are in the process of saving up for the kitchen renovation (I haven’t forgotten about… I promise) I didn’t want to shell out a bunch of money for satin nickel covers upstairs just yet.
Instead I spent less than ten bucks on Krylon Primer and Krylon Satin Nickel.
I spread all the covers and screws out on a left over pizza box.
Then I lightly sanded each cover before priming. Sanding helps the primer really cling to the surface.
After sanding I sprayed a coat of primer and then went inside for a few minutes to let the paint dry. In just the few minutes I was gone ants had started to take over the pizza box.
So I pulled out my super secret weapon (spray paint) and gave the ants (and covers) a good coating. No more ants.
Two light coats later the covers were ready to be installed. Just to be sure the paint was good and adhered to the cover I let them sit over night first before installing them.
They may not have the decorative detail of the covers downstairs but they definitely look better than the alternative… beige.
You may be wondering how well the paint will up on the plastic. Well, so far so good. Even though it’s only been a couple of weeks we don’t have any scratches or nicks yet. The satin nickel finish should hold up well since we primed the covers first. The primer really sticks to the plastic well and provides a good durable surface for the paint to bond to.
Now we just need to order pizza again so that I can pain the rest of the covers upstairs! Sounds like a good excuse to take the night off from cooking to me.
Has anyone else spray painted their outlet covers? Are you a satin nickel, brass, oil rubbed bronze, or plastic cover girl (guy)?
Miss something? Recently we painted the master bedroom a color that matched this pillow back in the spring.
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We did the same thing in our kitchen!! It has held up really well! 🙂
I am so glad to hear that. Quick fixes are the best!
ahhh, very nice (and easy!) fix! Good to know!
Thanks! It was super easy… isn’t that the way all projects should be.
This is awesome! I was wondering if this could be done and was totally planning on doing it until I realized that our light switch covers are all weird mis-match. For example, one is the shape of a house with a duck standing in the door…we may have to go the more expensive route and replace with new ones!
Yeah, I would probably have to get rid of the duck ones. Haha!
Clever! I’m going to have to give this a try!
It was definitely better than putting them back up beige. Beige would have clashed with the white big time.
Cool; to be honest never gave my light covers a second thought until NOW!! Another project to add to the list. LOL
They look great! We usually just buy new ones, but next time we need to just do this.
Such a simple thing–but what a big difference it makes! Good for you!! Thanks for sharing your idea–and for the heads up about the paint. I hadn’t seen that color!