How to Paint Light Fixtures {Industrial Pendant Makeover}

The nursery is finally complete and I am still compiling pictures and posts to show you all of the updates we’ve made in this space. One of the fun changes we made was totally changing the look of the industrial pendant light. Some of you might be wondering “how do I paint a light fixture?” This was me about two years ago…until I discovered the beauty of using spray paint and craft paint. Yes, I said it, craft paint!

Here is what the industrial pendant light looked like after we made it about a year ago….

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Not bad, but the red wasn’t the look I was going for but this is how we found it in my Hubby’s grandpa’s shop.

If you missed the post on how we made this DIY industrial pendant, you can check it out HERE.

So in order to achieve the look of an industrial pendant light I envisioned, I followed these simple steps:

1. Using a gray spray paint primer, apply two coats to the light fixture

2. Next, using a “hammered” spray paint in a grey finish apply 2-3 coats of paint. There should be a spray paint called hammered and it is typically used for outdoor metal like BBQ’s, work benches, etc. but we used it for this light and it worked perfect!

3. Let it dry completely and you should have a galvanized looking industrial light.

Tip:I use a spray gun attachment that is under $3 and available at Lowes, Home Depot, and even Wal-Mart that I snap on to my spray paint can and it acts as a spray gun making an easy and even application of paint.

Just like this one above

Now if you are wanting different tones of paint or a darker finish, you can use plain ol’ acrylic craft paint and using a sponge brush add darker colors of grey in a metallic finish to your light fixture. I prefer using “gun metal” when completing projects like this and have done so HERE and HERE. I also used this technique for my office light makeover which you will be seeing very soon!