Spray-Painted a Dated Electrical Outlet

When you buy an older home you inherit the sins of the previous owners.  Usually those aren't so bad, and honestly our home here was pretty kicking.  The only truly awful monstrosity that this house had to offer was the dreaded Monkey Bathroom.  Not only had the entire room been wallpapered with a really obnoxious pattern, but even the outlets had been wallpapered.  Yuck!

So naturally in true fashion I gave the entire room a overhaul, and then looked at that discolored, outdated plug mocking me.  

So there was a blue dyed spot on the plug from being wallpapered.  I thought it was a scorch mark, and freaked out all over Señor Hotness.  He talked me down from the ledge, and told me it was just a discolored spot and not a sign of impending fire.

First, cut the power at the breaker.  Then I used a spray primer from Krylon especially made for use on plastic.  WARNING: This is a very thin product.  So make sure you use short spurts instead of heavy-handed spraying.  Otherwise it will just run right off of whatever your are spraying.  After the appropriate dry time I hit it with a white Krylon Fusion spray paint also for use on plastic.

Then my next step was to use a spray clear coat.  Also from Krylon.  I used this to protect my painted surface from the wear and tear of use.

Then try and I might I managed to overspray the tape just a smidge.  I also noticed that the sink surround needed to be re-caulked.  So after re-caulking the surround, I then touched up with the blue using a small fine tipped brush (the kind you use on hobby projects since I was dealing with touching up a really tight area).

You might ask why the heck would I do this instead of just replacing it.  While all the supplies will run you about $12 up front it could be used to transform many, many outlets.  In all honesty I would have normally just replaced this with a new outlet, but it was in a tricky place with the sink surround. So I would have had to modify the cover plate, and honestly I wasn't confident that I could do it without breaking it.  So I looked in my paint stash, and found all I needed for this frugal DIY project.

Its ok to continue to use something old if its still functioning.  Its better than it junking up a landfill somewhere, but there is no reason not to give it a little love and a new lease on life.

linked up at:  www.thededicatedhouse.com, www.savvysouthernstyle.net, jannolson.blogspot.com, mythirftstoreaddiction.blogspot.com

SaveSave