I will be the first one to admit that I’m constantly prone to making mistakes in my DIYs, and there are times I think, “Boy, I’ve really messed up this time. What was I thinking?! Curse you, Pinterest!”
If you don’t believe me, just check out this post from eons ago when I thought there was no end in sight in an ugly varnish removal process from our dining room chairs. Thanks to this trick I figured out in a moment of desperation, those icky chairs had a happily ever after.
Then there was this post in one of my very first projects last year. It had a happy ending too.
My shower door spray painting project this weekend was like a total flashback.
Yes, this too ends well, and you’ll be seeing a pretty reveal later on, but if you ever find yourself in a spray painting snaffoo, I hope I can help you out here.
I took all the necessary steps in the long process of covering up everything with plastic drop cloth and taping ever so meticulously with Frog Tape
(which, by the way, I prefer much more than the blue painters tape).
(which, by the way, I prefer much more than the blue painters tape).
I used my favorite spray paint, Rust-Oleum Universal. I’ve used it countless times and I’ve always had amazing results.
If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw this coming. Our bathroom transformed from quarantine site to horror film in about 5 minutes.
Here’s where I got really nervous after the first coat. If you’re spray painting your shower, it’s okay. Breathe! Well, into your ventilator mask that is.
After three thin coats of the spray paint, and the finish was looking nice and even, I thought it was all going to end up beautifully after all. Oh, little naive Lauren. How wrong you were.
If you ever venture to spray paint your own shower door, here’s what NOT to do:
1. Don’t assume because you cleaned your shower a few days ago that it is spray paint ready.
Wipe down your shower frame with a rag and white vinegar to break up any soap scum left behind. Spray paint absolutely won’t stick to soap residue.
2. Don’t let your impatience get the best of you.
I made the mistake of peeling up the Frog Tape after an hour. The paint peeled with it! So I was left with this lovely mess. Let your paint dry for a full 24 hours before dismantling your crime scene.
*Tip: Here’s how to fix peeled paint:
I definitely didn’t want to tape all of the plastic drop cloths back up and spend hours doing all of that prep work again to fix my trouble spots. So I grabbed a deep cardboard box, my spray paint, and an artist brush to spray a little paint on the brush at a time to touch up the peeled spots.
I used a little tape again to get a crisp line. And, since I learned my lesson, I let the paint dry completely before removing the tape.
It’s still not perfect since painting around silicone caulk can be really tricky, but it’s much better and only noticeable up close.
3. Don’t cut corners by not taping any gaps where your plastic drop cloths separate.
That spray paint can travel! And it’s sneaky stuff. It actually went between and under the plastic that I had overlapped. So when I peeled up the plastic, I got this nice surprise of paint overspray.
*Tip: Here’s how to remove paint overspray from plastic and/or tile.
Nail polish remover works wonders on spray paint mistakes! I use it all the time for any permanent marker mishaps, so I figured I’d give it a try. It worked!
Soak a cotton ball with nail polish remover, scrub the spray paint spot, and it’s gone! And it really doesn’t take much elbow grease either.
4. Don’t assume applying painter’s tape will always give you a clean line.
Even though I get pretty great results from it, take an extra step to score tape lines with a knife. Or you’ll end up with this loveliness.
*Tip: Here’s how to fix smudged spray paint lines.
I used nail polish remover again for the spots where spray paint leaked under the tape by soaking Q-Tips in it, and running them along the smudged lines.
Use your fingernail or a razor blade to scrape off any paint that isn’t completely removed with the nail polish remover. Ahhh nice, clean spray painted edge.
I keep thinking this, but one day I should probably devote a post to Bless’er House blunders just to show y’all how many DIYs have gone horribly wrong. Sometimes the only way you can get through a bad situation is to laugh it off.
If you find yourself running into road blocks on projects, don’t give up! Learn from those mistakes, let it shape you into a smarter DIYer, and keep on with your bad self. 😉 I bet you after the next amazing project you pull off, you’ll be glad you didn’t give up.
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Thanks for sharing these effective tips with us. Keep up the good work!
Hi, isn’t there a Rustoleum I could apply with a brush or sponge instead of spraying? Just one section of my door is stained/discolored from age and scrubbing. We are eventually going to rehab the whole bathroom, but for now I just wanted to paint the section of the chrome on the shower door that is discolored. It causes your eye to go right to that area. I just want to camouflage it for now.
YES, Lisa!! You can get a can of this to use with a brush or sponge from Lowe’s or from Amazon.
Just wondering how it held up years later. Loving your realness btw.
It held up great!
Lauren, I’m looking at spray painting my chrome shower to a matte black.
Has the spray paint held up over the past few years? We plan to put in a new neo angle shower but it won’t be for a few years. Thank you!
We don’t actually live there anymore, but it was holding up great until we left a couple years ago!
4 years later how are the painted brass trim holding up? I sprayed our brass door knobs and they lasted maybe a year :/
Thank you so much for posting what you learned about this process. When my husband and I found out what it would cost to replace the shower doors and glass, we couldn’t believe it. I didn’t have much confidence, though, about being able to do this job, but with you sharing so many details about what works and what didn’t–I am so thankful! I am still a little nervous, but will go for it to save tons of $
Good luck! I am sure it will be great.
I am having trouble roughing up the shower door before painting. Is it absolutely necessary? I am planning on using the rustoleum but the satin nickel color.
Hi Anna! You’d have to use a very coarse grit sandpaper, but even just a little bit helps. The main thing I’d worry about is to make sure they’re very clean and don’t have any soap scum or mildew on them. The sandpaper helps get rid of any of that.
Hey Lauren,
It’s such a great idea that you’ve shared with us. Thanks so much.
I was wondering how many cans of metallic spray you used for the shower door please?
Thanks again!
Hi Marissa! It’s been quite a while but I’m thinking it took 3 cans.
So I don’t need to use automobile primer for this project? Like you used for the shower fixers.
In hindsight, yes, I would use the sanding, automobile primer, spray paint, spray lacquer method that I used with the fixtures. The doors still held up great, but not quite as well as the fixtures have.
I notice everyone that does a shower frame refinish seems to leave the shower door frame installed. Can you tell me why? I was thinking about taking mine apart, cleaning it up, taking it outside, painting it on newspaper and then re-installing it. Is that a bad idea?
Thanks!
My reason was just because I was doing the project by myself this time around and couldn’t wrestle it outside by myself, so I just opted to do it all inside and save the hassle. You could certainly take it apart and do all of the work outside too. Totally up to you. 🙂
I’m getting ready to paint my shower door, We were able to dismantle it, quite easily. I am hoping that it will work out.
That’s great! Hope it turns out well for you!
How did you prep the shower frame? Also, have you consider steinless steel paint with a professional automotive primer? I’m tempted to use these paint materials. My shower frame is brass colored and I want more like a brushed nickeled finish. Keep me posted on any recent updates on your shower frame.
Hi Lissette! I just cleaned the chrome frame really well with a mixture of white vinegar and dish soap, scrubbed, and rinsed thoroughly. The spray paint has primer built in. I think priming with an automotive primer before the paint would give you extra durability and you could add a top coat of spray shellac if you’d like too. The downside is you can’t be too aggressive with your scrubbing once it’s painted. I scrubbed it pretty hard before and a couple of places chipped. It’s easy to touch up, but it does make me wish I’d done that extra prep step. I figured I’d be the guinea pig for this one. I did spray paint our shower fixtures in our other bathroom using those extra steps, and it is extremely durable so far. https://www.blesserhouse.com/2015/10/how-to-spray-paint-shower-fixtures.html
Hi, I was wondering how is the shower screen standing up against the da to day use and cleaning? I want to do this, but unsure of how it will look after constant use.
Thanks for your help.
Hi Jeanice! It has held up wonderfully! There is one spot on the shower door handle (pea-sized) that chipped off because our bathroom door opens into it and the knob bangs on the metal frame of our shower (major floor plan flaw on that one). We hope to put in a sliding barn door eventually to solve that problem, and we’ll touch it up then. It’s very easy to clean the inside since I only put the grid on the outside. I just don’t aggressively scrub the metal frame; I spray it down and wipe it.
Thanks SO much for this, Lauren! I want to do ours! Loved reading this… you are too funny! 😉 Also, thanks for the nail polish remover tip. Little secret: I was spray painting outside in the tiniest breeze a couple weeks ago and the gentle wind blew a light spray of white paint on my black new boots!!! I’m going to try removing it with that!! 🙂 Thanks friend!
Kendra @ http://www.joyinourhome.com
Oh my gosh! I bet you just about had a heart attack when you saw all that spray IN the shower! Glad the nail polish remover took care of it!
Great idea spraying into the box and then applying! Super smart!
Please, please do the Bless’er House blooper reel.
Also, thanks for keeping it real with your projects. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who could end up on the Pinterest Fails. 🙂 Can’t wait to see the end result on the master bath though!!
I just might have to. Maybe that’ll be a good April Fools Day post. 🙂
Awesome tips
Thanks 🙂
You are hysterical! Thanks so much for being vulnerable and honest. I wish I could say all of our projects turned out perfectly 🙂
I’m all for keeping it real, Vicki! Haha
Hi Lauren, Are you happy with the end result? I’ve had my share of blunders and usually don’t follow through with the project. 🙂 Julie
I’m very happy with it now that the touch up is done. It was a nail biter for a minute there. We haven’t used the shower yet. I have a couple of steps after this that I’m doing. I’ve heard from other people who have used this same type of paint for their showers and they’ve held up beautifully. I’ll have to do an update later down the road to let you know. 🙂
Is there a follow up? I’d like to know how it’s holding up after a year. Thanks.
Hi Dinah! I haven’t posted a follow up yet, but it’s holding up great except for the bottom of the frame on the inside has gotten a little scuffed up from abrasive cleaning. I posted another spray painted shower fixture project in this post and it’s definitely the most durable you can possibly get. Sanding / auto primer / spray finishing lacquer is the best I think: https://www.blesserhouse.com/2015/10/how-to-spray-paint-shower-fixtures.html