Painting a Fireplace

A little over two years ago we bought a foreclosure.   The house was not old, but the previous owners destroyed it. We moved from a house we had built and just finished remodeling to a house with dog poop smeared on the carpets.  They took all the shelving out the closets, all the light fixtures, and much more.  It was a little overwhelming emotionally and on the pocketbook.  We are still working on it so in some pictures you will see we still need quarter round on the floors and other items. Oh well, we will get finish within the next 5 years, hopefully!  With all that said we had left the fireplace as is, because we could not come up with the money to reface it.  The fireplace stone was an off white/tan color and had many stains on it.  I was not sure what I should do with it, so after many internet searches I decided to paint it white.  I read on some sites that you have to spray the stone down with water and then put the primer on it while the stone is still damp. However, other sites did not mention this technique.  I decided to go "waterless" and used Behr Premium Plus Ultra: Exterior Semi-Gloss Enamel, Stain Blocking Paint and Primer in One that I purchased from Home Depot.  Painting a fireplace is quite easy and I just followed the steps below:

1. Your fireplace needs to be clean with no cobwebs, loose dirt or soot.
   
2. You must use a primer for the stone.  You can do a primer separate than the paint or all in one. I choose the easier route and did the all in one.  Get an enamel paint and make sure it states it is good for stucco. The paint will take longer to cure, but it will save you time in the future on touch ups.
   
3. I used a paint brush and did the grout at the same time I did the stone.  I also read that you can use a nappy roller.  I did not do this and mine turned out great.
   
4. Apply one coat and let it completely dry.  I came back the next morning and did the second coat.  It only took 2 coats to cover for me, but I had no heavy soot stains.
   
   

I also had to buy Veneer Stone Mortar that I picked up at Menards for $4/ 60 lb bag.  I did not need that amount, but it was the smallest they sold it in.  When we installed the wood floor we
got up as close as we could to the stone, but it was too hard to match all the contours of the stone.  So I had to fill that with mortar and then came back and did 2 coats of white paint over that.

I started painting before I remembered to do a before photo.



And the after picture:

I still need to do something better for decorating the mantle, I just have not decided what yet.  Also, the picture on the mantle was from a thrift store that I spray painted the frame and mat to match.  I plan on replacing the brown rug with a white one to pull it all together.  Just a little nervous on how long the white will really stay white with my kids.  I better do some stain removing research before I make that purchase!

I saved hundreds of dollars by just painting it.  If you decide you want to paint more of a natural look here is a site that might help.

Happy Painting!