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I painted my mobile home’s kitchen cabinets and backsplash last year. However, the look of the ceiling fan after the kitchen makeover was bugging me. Those dark brown, fake wood blades just didn’t fit in.

As seniors on a fixed income, hubby and I have to decide where we spend our remodeling budget wisely. I don’t mind admitting that I can be a cheapskate if I think I can make an inexpensive cosmetic ‘fix’. Here’s how I gave my ceiling fan a facelift on a budget:

Give Your Ceiling Fan a Face Lift

The ceiling fan is in perfectly good shape; It works well and I like having it. I just don’t like the way it looks and that’s why I decided to paint the blades to match the kitchen cabinets.

This was a pretty easy project. It was affordable because I had all the paint supplies left over from the kitchen cabinet makeover.

Removing the Blades from the Fan

The first step was to unscrew and remove the blades from the fan and give them a good cleaning. But, wouldn’t you know it! One of the screws on one of the blades was stripped and I couldn’t get it off. Plan B: that blade had to be painted in situ with the hardware covered in masking tape.

Fortunately, I was able to paint the rest of the blades on my kitchen table.

 

 

Clean the Fan Blades

Once the blades were removed from the fan I cleaned them with a product called Dirtex. I love this product for prepping before painting. It does a great job of removing years of dirt and grime.

Priming the Blades

The blades were made of some sort of pressed paper/cardboard product with a shiny finish. I used a super adhering primer that I had used on the kitchen cabinets.

There are numerous brands but I used Zinzeer 123 and have been happy with the results.

 

Whatever brand you use, I would suggest always using a “Super-Adhering” type, particularly when painting cabinets or any shiny or laminated surface. I used two coats of primer.

 

 

Painting the Blades

Next, two coats of the same latex paint in a satin finish that I’d used on my cabinets. When I chose the color, I tried to match the color of my kitchen table/island (you can see one of the chairs and a few cabinets in the background). The color is Valspar’s “ Churchill Downs”.

 

 

Glazing the Blades

The last step was to apply a glaze. I’d used a glaze on the cabinets so I had leftover glaze already mixed with the pigment I’d used on the cabinets (I told you I can be a cheapskate, waste not -want not).

There are a number of glaze products on the market. Being from a very small town, I used what was available at my local hardware store and I’ve been very happy with it. It’s called Ace Royal “Artistic Finishes” for faux painting. This clear glaze was mixed with Ace’s Royal Latex paint, the color is “Stagecoach”.

 

I applied the glaze with an old brush that had a lot of spacing between the bristles, let the glaze sit on the surface for 30-60 seconds, then gently wiped with a wet cloth.

 

Enjoy Your New Ceiling Fan

Once the blades were dry, I re-attached them and was finished. That wasn’t hard to do at all!

I’m pretty happy with the outcome. The dark brown blades of the fan no longer catch the eye and hold it there. The look is more cohesive and the fan now looks like it belongs in the room; no longer a big brown eyesore.

 

 

Cost of this project: Minimal.

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