A Review of Rust-Oleum Direct-To-Plastic Paint
We took all of our measurements to Home Depot, hoping to replace this fixture without too much trouble. Well, designs really change in 23 years, and we couldn’t find any bathroom light fixtures that would fit into our spot, and that hooked up in the same fashion. Needless to say, some modifications needed to be done to make this work. We had an $88.00 light fixture in our shopping cart, and then I said to my husband, “I wonder if we can just spray paint the old fixture?”
So off we went to check out the spray paints in the paint section of Home Depot. We found a complete line of spray paints made by RUST-OLEUM, and one of them was meant to go directly onto plastic, no primer needed! They had our color, white, in stock, so I picked up the can and promptly put the expensive light fixture back on the shelf.
When we got home, I didn’t waste any time, I was so anxious to see if this was going to work. I took the plastic lens cover off of my fixture, and laid the flat plastic base on some newspaper on our back deck. The directions say to use outdoors, or in a well ventilated room, I didn’t want to get paint on anything in our home, so I did this outside. It was about 50 degrees out at the time (the can said to use when temperatures are between 50 and 90 degrees F.)
Also following the directions, I made sure that the fixture had been washed and dried, so that I wouldn’t be spraying over any dirt or loose particles. Once it was ready to be sprayed, the job was super easy. I needed to shake the can vigorously after the mixing ball starts to rattle, then I was good to go. Holding the can upright and about a foot from my fixture, I sprayed it evenly back and forth. The directions said to apply 2 or more coats a few minutes apart, which is what I did. I ended up with three coats of paint on my light fixture.
I was surprised by how quickly this paint dried! Within an hour it was ready to put up! I washed my globe or bulb cover good with my Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, and soon it looked new as well. I got out my step stool and installed the newly painted white bathroom fixture, and honestly, it looked NEW! When I put the cover on it, it looked like I had just purchased and installed a brand new light fixture in my bathroom!
Even the edges of my light fixture (where the letters “Nu Tone” were engraved) looked just as sharp as could be. This did not look like your typical spray painted job! I was elated. My husband looked at my handi work and also exclaimed that it looked brand new. He couldn’t believe that a $5 can of spray paint saved us almost $90 and a lot of headaches on a ceiling light/fan fixture!
The picture on my RUST-OLEUM can shows a plastic lawn chair, and this summer I plan on buying other colors of this paint, and repainting our older lawn chairs. They are well made and sturdily constructed, but they have been faded from the sun. I am excited to see if they come out as nice as my light fixture did, and I am pretty confident that they will. This sprays on so smoothly, and doesn’t show any lines or streaks at all!
I visited the RUST-OLEUM website and found that this paint can be used on plastic mailboxes, lawn chairs and storage lockers, for just a few ideas. They claim that this paint will provide superior adhesion and long-lasting durability. I believe it will be long lasting, because I accidentally sprayed some of this on my hand while painting the edges of my fixture, and I had a terribly hard time removing it. The directions say that for clean up you should use Xylol or mineral spirits, neither of which I had on hand. So I can attest to how well this paint adheres!
Now that I have discovered a wonderful “Direct-To-Plastic” paint, I am looking all around the home to see what else could use a face lift! I called the company and asked a few questions about painting my lawn chairs, and was told that this plastic paint is meant to be used outdoors, and that it won’t chip and that it should not be affected by rain and other weather conditions. I love this paint and would buy other colors in a heartbeat. Don’t throw it away! Paint it!
RUST-OLEUM Direct-To-Plastic paint comes in the following colors:
White
Black
Espresso
Dark Hunter Green
Taupe
Claret Wine
Navy
Shell White
Spruce Green
Sunrise Red
Sail Blue
