Have an old mirror that needs a little makeover or one that’s been damaged in some way?  You’re in the right spot!  Painting a mirror frame is a very easy and affordable way to update a tired mirror and give it a fresh new look.  Distressed Hand Painted White Round Mirror – DIY.

Today, I wanted to share with you this distressed white round mirror that I painted, & show you how to get this look.  You can use a mirror you already own, or find the one that I used for this tutorial.

Together we will transform this bronze-colored mirror to a beautiful white, using a little distressed method that I like to do.  

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DISTRESSED HAND PAINTED WHITE ROUND MIRROR – DIY

Before…….

 

And After…..

 

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DISTRESSED HAND PAINTED WHITE ROUND MIRROR – DIY

STEP ONE:   CHOOSE THE MIRROR YOU WANT TO PAINT 

So, where do we start?  Choose a mirror that you don’t mind changing up (buy one) or one that you’re just simply tired of looking at in it’s present state (one that you already own).  

The mirror I painted is from Hobby Lobby……and even though I still think it’s a beautiful mirror as is, I was just ready to move the style/décor of my house into a different direction.

If you wanted to do this mirror, it sells for $139.99 full price .  You can wait for the 50% off sale that they do every other week or use their 40% off store coupon, and the price goes down to roughly $75-$85. 

Just a FYI-  I had this mirror for about 5 yrs, so it was something that I didn’t mind changing.  It all depends on what you want to spend (or save).

 

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STEP 2:  GATHER YOUR SUPPLIES

SUPPLIES: 

1.  2-3 Paintbrushes
2.  primer
3.  1 white paint – Polar Bear – Behr – Home Depot
4.  1 gray paint – Cathedral Gray – Behr- Home Depot
5.  1 clear wax
6.  1 dark wax (optional)
7.  1 sanding sheets pkg.
8.  1 angled sanding sponge (optional)
9.  gloves
10.  stir stick
11.  solo plastic cup and/or coffee container (optional)

*** nail hole filler/spackling if doing this exact mirror ***

 

Most of my supplies for this painted mirror project came from Home Depot and Ace Hardware.  Both of these stores are close to my house, and convenience when painting is a huge factor for me.  

I also use Sherwin Williams for paint color choices, just not on this project.

Here are some pictures of the supplies with prices to give you an idea of cost (at Home Depot).  Remember that all of the supplies can be used for several small projects & you can choose whatever brand/store that you like.

 

 

If you get these Behr paint samples (above pictures) at Home Depot, it will help keep prices down.   They come in 5 finishes, but I typically use matte flat or flat when painting items. 

You can always get sample sizes at Sherwin Williams also.

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STEP 3:   FILLING OUTSIDE LAYER WITH FILLER/SPACKLING

***NOTE*** If you are doing this exact mirror, continue with step 3.  If you are doing a different mirror, skip to step 4.

So you have chosen your mirror, purchased your supplies, and now ready to fill in that outer layer of the mirror.  So here is what the outer rim looks like…..kind of like leaves or vines. 

Since it had more of a traditional look to it, I decided to change it.

This is where the gloves, nail hole filler, and TIME will come into play.  Cut a pretty good chunk off the tip of the tube of nail hole filler so that MORE comes out. 

This is important because it will take less time filling in those vine-y areas.

Put your gloves on and start squeezing the tube so that you can fill in that outer area with the pink “goo”, just to the amount you desire.  I covered about 1/2 to 3/4 of the vines (just enough so I could not make out those lines exactly……just a personal preference really).  

Smooth it out with your  gloved fingers, and rinse gloved fingers off when it starts to dry.

This will be time consuming and messy….maybe an hour or more.  What I love about this kind of filler is that it starts out pink when wet, and turns white when it is dry.  Takes the guessing out of it. 

Let dry for 24 hours.  If there is still some areas with slight pink in color, don’t worry.  It will dry by the next day.

***  You may want a large plastic bowl filled with water and rag to help get nail hole filler off gloved fingers ***

*** If you want more filler on your outer rim, you may also want 2 tubes of nail hole filler ***

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STEP 4:  PRIMING/PAINTING MIRROR

Begin priming the mirror with one of your paint brushes, following along with the lines of the mirror.  Do not completely cover mirror with primer so that it is solid white – should have some dark streaks in it. 

Below:  You can see the streaks here (in it’s final state).

  

Let the primer dry 2-4 hours.

Now add your gray paint and follow those same brush strokes so that you can see just a little white peeking through in some spots. Let dry overnight.

I used (Cathedral Gray- gray paint by Behr) and (Polar Bear- white paint by Behr) for this project.

***TIP*** If you want other shades, I also like (French Silver- gray, and Swiss Coffee-white) – all at Home Depot. 

See Below -the picture on left show differences in shades of whites, the picture on right shows difference in shades of gray.

 

 

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 STEP 5:  WAX MIRROR

THIS IS IMPORTANT, DO NOT SKIP.  Take your clear wax and spread all over your mirror with a sponge or rag.  Let dry 20 minutes- then dry off with a rag. 

It will have a light sheen after you do this.  Waxing will keep the gray paint from coming off when you sand it later.

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 STEP 6:  PAINT WHITE COAT

Now you can paint the mirror with your white paint.  Cover it completely with the paint- just not thick.  Let it dry overnight.

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STEP 7:  CLEAR WAX AGAIN/ADD DARK WAX

Use your clear wax again, wait 20 mins, and dry off with your rag.  Now add your dark wax, and wipe off immediately…..leaving some spots with dark showing. 

I did mine with more dark showing on the vine-y filled outer layer to add depth.  If you do not want any dark was/antiquing added, skip this step.  Let dry overnight.  Dry it off the next day.

*** TIP***I like to use the solo plastic cups and/or Folgers coffee container to put my dark wax brush in .  I use these while I am working so that the brush doesn’t get dirty, and also to store my brush in afterwards.  

The Folgers container is great because you can cover it with the lid.  ***  I’m sure these 2 items looked completely ridiculous on the “supplies” list 😉

I got both of these from Ace Hardware, but here they amazon carries them also.  They sell for around $15-$20 each.

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STEP 8:  WAX THEN SAND DOWN MIRROR

After you have dried/wiped off the mirror (from dark wax), do another clear wax coat & dry off.

NOW- You can begin sanding immediately after your last waxing/drying off.   Start with the 150 grit sanding sheets, and start sanding gently. 

Add more pressure if you want more streaks showing (distressing).  Use the 80 grit (coarse) for greater distressed look and 220 grit (fine) for less distressed look).

You can use your angled sanding sponge (optional) here to get in between those difficult spots/angles that the sanding sheets can’t get to.

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STEP 9:  CLEAR WAX AGAIN

You will do the clear wax one last time- same method.  Dry it off to get the sheen you want for your desired look AND…..

YOU ARE DONE!!!

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Here is a little cheat sheet – 5 day project

Day 1- Choose mirror & do filler

Day 2- Prime (2-4 hours to dry), Paint Gray (let dry overnight)

Day 3- Clear wax (dry 20 mins), Paint White (let dry overnight)

Day 4- Clear wax again, Dark wax (let dry overnight)

Day 5- Clear wax again, Sand, Clear Wax final time

 

 

Good job and hope you love your “new” mirror!!

 

 

Have a Fabulous Day!  Love & Hugs 🙂

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