Updated Metal Star

spcountrygal Accessories, DIY, Home Accessories, Painting, Quick Project, Spray Paint, , , , , , , ,

Once upon earlier this morning, I had a metal star that looked like this:

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I bought this 28 inch metal star at a garage sale about 5 years ago for $1.  Loved the price, but I wasn’t crazy about the finish.  Still, I slapped it up on my wall and forgot all about it.   It was up high enough that the unfortunate color and scraped-off paint didn’t really look too bad against the beige wall it was hanging on.  As you may or may not know, I’m going gray in my house.  The metal star came down so the gray paint could go up.

I will give you a preview of what this star looks like now:

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Kind of looks like something that you would see in the aisles of Hobby Lobby, doesn’t it?   Do you wanna know how I got this look?  So easy!  First I spray painted the whole thing black and once that dried, I sprayed on 2 coats of a nice shade of aqua:

Satin Black
Krylon’s Blue Ocean Breeze

I tell you, spray paint these days dries so fast.  Of course, the reason that I painted the star black in the first place is because I wanted to be able to distress it and have black showing through the aqua.  You already knew that, right?

To distress projects that I paint with water-based paints, I usually rub the areas that I want exposed with a damp rag or scrubbing sponge, but water really didn’t have the same effect with spray paint.  I ended up going with pure acetate nail polish remover.  I messed around using the scrubbing sponge…

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…but ended up liking the look achieved by using Q-tips and cotton balls the best.  As the acetone hits the paint, it tends to smear the black beneath into the top coat so I messed around with that a bit :

Heavy distress/paint smear
Less distress
I like the less-distress portion

Here’s some practical advice:  be smart and wear gloves.  Trust me on this one.

IMAG00770

After re-spraying the portions that I over-distressed (which was way easier than I thought it would be) I favored using the Q-tips.  Be prepared to use a lot of Q-tips to avoid a smeary look.  Really, it is so super easy.

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Perched on the same screw that it originally hung from, my updated star really shines.  Never to be ignored or forgotten again.  I must say that I L*O*V*E the finished project.

Updated Metal Star

What do you think?

 

********* Linking up to these awesome parties!*********

 

 

30 thoughts on “Updated Metal Star”

  1. Love the star, but what I really want to know is the shade of gray you are using on your walls! What paint store, and what is the name of the color of gray? I brought home gray paint swatches from Lowes, and they are all too blue! I do want a slight hint of blue, but not a grayish bluish color!

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    • Thanks! So far I have painted the family room, dining room and halls Sherwin Williams “Repose Gray” in a satin finish. Stop by my house the next time you are on town. You can also Google “images” with the paint color name. I’ll add pics to my blog soon.

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  16. I found a store that I am definately taking you to the next time you visit. It’s called “Not too Shabby” It should be called “Sharilee’s Dream Palace”

    Love the star! We forgot our star that we had on the front/outside of our Palo Cedro home.

    Maybe some of my friends could dress up in black cat burglar outfits and sneak over there during the dark of night while humming the Pink Panther theme and nab it. That would be a fun adventure to tell about at dinner parties…It would hang on our home in Granite Bay, as a testimonial of the nuts I miss in Palo Cedro. ……Hmmm. Just puttin it out there….

    Let me know when you go to Sac. Temple next. I will meet you there.

    Patrice

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  17. Patrice, you crack me up! Not sure I could pull off the whole thievery thing, sorry! Yes, we need to get to Sac. soon. Ican’t wait to go to Sharilee’s Dream Palace! Girls Camp next week. Miss you!

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  18. This looks great! You’ve probably moved on with your star decor by now, as I see this post is from 2015. Anyway, I have three red metal stars that I’ve had forever. I still like how they fill up a wall, but I want to change them up. What do you think about doing this technique with off-white paint for a sort of rustic French cottage look? Thanks for your post, which came up while I was googling around for an easy way to do it.

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    • Thanks for visiting my blog, Cami! As you can tell, it’s been a while since I have posted…life got in the way of blogging.

      I would absolutely paint them white and I believe there is power in numbers. One star is great, but 3 distressed white stars? Oh, yeah, now we’re talking! I would love to see pics when you are done!

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