Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

DIY

How to Undo Spray Paint

September 20, 2012

Remember when I committed the crime of the century earlier this week and spray painted our new-to-us quirky coffee table oil-rubbed bronze...and it came up...flat? 75% of commenters agreed, the brass was better.  I should note, Chris doesn't care for the brass.  I think his words were, "Brass and smoked glass together make me gag."  That being said, he didn't like the black either.  So he and I agreed the black had to go--it was making a very interesting table seemingly ordinary. So I researched and racked my brain and hit the hardware store.

And came up with the magical solution!  Err...I just bought it and used it.  But, I am here to tell you it works pretty well.  Supposedly it works on stone, concrete, brick, metals, vinyl, glass, factory baked auto finishes, fiberglass, and wood too.  And since we are in the middle of (coming out of?) a spray-paint-happy phase in decor I think this is something we can all learn from.

The photo on the right was taken this morning...which is weird because a similar photo was taken last week for Monday's post...but I promise, the black paint it gone and the table has been restored. The product I used was called Goof Off (I heard about it in some car forum) and there were a bunch of different types at the store.  I went to Home Depot and there were at least 7 different forms of Goof Off.  Some were used to take off tar, oil, latex paint, etc.  My eyes gravitated toward this one:

Spray paint is used for graffiti, so uhh, should do the trick, right?  It was $6, which seemed cheap enough to give it a try.  Next time I would have also picked up some latex gloves, too because--my hands!! They are really stained.

That actually looks better than they do in real life.  So, gloves people.  Removing the spray paint wasn't too difficult.  The instructions say to spray the product on a cloth and rub it on the surface, but I found spraying it directly on the table and a little on the cloth too (we actually used an old t-shirt) made for quicker work.  Here's a short video of the process so you don't have to wonder what exactly I mean by "quicker work":

Phone + Night= not the best quality video, but now you know what you can expect if you have spray-paint remorse like we did. As for the finish, we noticed some parts look shinier than others.  Unfortunately, we can't remember if it was like that before we painted and un-painted it.  A little patina doesn't hurt, but if we do decide to stick with the brass, I'm sure we could always buff it up if we wanted to.

You may be wondering if the brass is sticking around now.  We're going to live with it while the room evolves.  I like it. Chris doesn't. But since we still have a lot of accessories to add to the room, we're in no rush to change it or decide we love it.  In short, we'll keep you posted.

Do you have any spray-paint remorse?  Or have you completely re-done (or undone) something within the same week? Are you team-brass or team-black, or maybe you are still rooting for something else.

filed under: 
— Hide Comments
+ ShowComments
What do you think?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. If the table had an undercoat of paint from a factory, so you think the graffiti remover would damage it as remove the spray paint?

  2. Probably shouldn't leave a comment as I like the black way better . The brass to me is out of date , the black seems more modern and matches your stuff better. I may be the oddball but I think the brass cheapens it . Im glad I read this post , I've been a little spray paint happy trying to bring more color into my house and some of the pieces just didn't look right so I will definetley try the goof off.

  3. I love the idea of Blue Magic! But if you want save your hands or just go another way, I think the uniqueness of the table would look awesome painted a color in a high gloss. Maybe a green, a red, or yellow color would be striking with the navy in the room? Or maybe it should be white with the smoked glass?

    But I think the Blue Magic would be especially gorgeous in your space though! Good luck!

  4. Yup. Definitely had spray paint remorse, but it was my feet that were the problem! I didn't put down a big enough floor cover in the garage to handle straight across spraying. So the paint went on the cement floor, which I then walked in, including shavings from an earlier project that didn't get swept up enough. I had the most interesting "hammered black metal-color" feet you've ever seen. Thanks to an extremely coarse pumice stone from Sally Beauty and a lot of hair conditioner, I had clean feet, and the best pedicure I 've had in a long time. I won't be making that mistake again any time soon. Thanks, Julia for the tip. Now maybe I can get the red, black and white spray paint (3 separate projedects) off my garage floor!

  5. So happy that you guys found a way to get it back to it's original glory, I must admit the ORB made me kinda sad. I had a weird momrnt today when I spied your tables kinda cousin (square version with not as nice details) on my local craigslist today (for free) http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/pml/zip/3285755119.html It has clear glass so it might be a good visual for Chris to see if it helps his gag reflex!

  6. I'm not sure what I like better. I like all things shiny, and I agree that the brass is better than the bronze, but there's something about brass that bothers me. I know it is coming back though and with some more accessories it may look totally different.

  7. I agree with all the commenters who said to keep it brass and have new clear glass cut. The brass makes the room look so much richer.

  8. Oh Julia, I am absolutely in love with your table. It is so...different and awesome. Love it! As for black or brass....i'm torn. I love the warmth and visual interest the brass adds to the room, but I just can't put my finger on why it just doesn't do it for me. And I'm with you on the black,no go for sure. You guys are amazing....love how the room is evolving!

  9. I vote for the brass! I used that same product to get paint off tile in my bathroom-- yeah for 'goof off'! Also, one though for Chris-- if the combination of the brass and the smoked glass is what gets to him you could consider having new glass cut in the non-smokey variety. I'm with Chris on the smoked glass (it reminds me of something that resides in the house of... well, a smoker)!

  10. I love the brass, for sure :) I think it's best to keep it like that for awhile. You never know, given some time your hubs may like it in the room...ya never know! :)

  11. Team brass x1000! I get why he doesn't like the smoked glass/brass combo, but I would try getting new clear glass cut to replace the smoked glass. And then I would be temped to just paint the black legs glossy white or silver (the black parts - not the brass!!), but I'd probably try photoshopping first to check out the look before doing it.

  12. Oh my goodness! Amanda! That Blue Magic stuff looks like it would be exactly the look Chris would go for. Still so shiny! Glad to hear you had great results with it. I'll be sure to let you know if we give it a try in the coming weeks. My hands need a little break right now.

  13. My husband is a HUGE fan of Goof Off! We used a ton of it while painting/working on floors/etc. when we moved into our first house this summer. He loves Goof Off like I love Mr. Clean's Magic Erasers. 8-)

    Suzanna

  14. That's a handy little tid bit to keep in my back pocket. :) Also, love that Chris ended the video with "Greta's crying." That's usually what happens at our house, too. Ev needs to sleep with his plastic ice cream cones/Nerf dart gun/stuffed animal. Ha. BTW, I tried Rub N Buff on metal yesterday and it wasn't successful. However, I switched gears and used Blue Magic and it worked like a charm. Here's a post about a past project:
    http://ourhumbleabowedblog.com/2010/09/09/how-to-update-brass/ But I'll have another post about the whole project next week. :)

  15. Who knew spray paint could be undone??? Way to go for figuring that out! I've been trying to decide what to do about my kitchen table/chairs that I started painting...but didn't like it half way through. I wonder if it'd work as well on wood... I just may have to try it :)

  16. Wow. That first attempt at satin nickel must have been so disappointing. Awesome that they let you return it. I'll have to remember that one. I just checked out the Painted Hive's post too on the "Metal Effects" product. But I don't know if we could get it here in the US. Thanks for all the tips Callie!

  17. wow! didn't know that could be done! er, un-done. if you want to tone down the gold, may i suggest some rub'n'buff in something like a "grecian gold". good luck!

  18. I love that you un-spraypainted something!! I've sometimes wondered how hard it would be as I enthusiastically go about ORBing everything in my house, haha. :) It's true that the ORB made the table a bit flat...but also I'm not a huge brass fan..the 90's are just too recent for me ;) I liked your suggestion of the brushed nickel, but it's so hard to find a good spraypaint for that (I tried it here actually! http://house-capades.blogspot.com/2012/05/experiments-in-persistence.html).

    What about....some kind of rub-on paint/burnish that would give the brass more patina, like an antique-y distressed character? I know distressed isn't really in your palette though. But it might lend some nice depth/texture. I think http://thepaintedhive.blogspot.com/ did some burnished metal project some time ago...I've been thinking of trying some from Amazon to see how it works ;)

Previous Post

What We're

Loving

Right Now

What We're

Loving

Right Now

Looking for our favorite things? A place to shop our home room by room, or just catch up on what Julia's wearing / loving right now? Browse the CLJ shop
Shop All

Love Stories

Love Where You Live

In an industry that often feels designed to make you discontent, we want this to be place you come for inspiration, ideas, and encouragement to make the space you're already in feel like home.
Read All Posts
let's break this thing up

BROWSE BY CATEGORY

01

Portfolio

Befores, afters, mood boards, plans, failures, wins. We’ve done a lot of projects, and they’re all here.
read more
02

Projects

We have a long-standing relationship with DIY, and love rolling our sleeves up and making it happen.
read more
03

Design

Even when you don’t want to rip down a wall, you can make that space in your home better. Right now.
read more
hello world!

looking for inspiration?

The Marcum family dressed as characters from the classic edition of Clue: The Game.
Entertaining

Our Halloween Family Costumes 2024: I'll Give You One Clue

It was Professor Plum, with the knife, in the Conservatory. Happy Halloween from Clue characters: 1986 edition! Shop Costume Inspiration Over the years, we've dressed as everything from dolls and monsters to Peter Pan, E.T. characters, and The Wizard of Oz. But in the last several years, one of our kids has usually chosen our costumes. If you look back, you […]
Wayfair Holiday Christmas collage round up
Decor

The Best Holiday Finds at Wayfair

This post is sponsored by Wayfair We bought this gorgeous, extremely realistic tree from Wayfair in 2019. It may be my best Christmas find ever because it has moved across the country with us, and it's the first thing we decorate every year (and that last thing we put away when the season is over). […]
product lines

Meet the New Chris Loves Julia x Loloi Pillows for Fall 2024

With the Chris Loves Julia x Loloi Rugs launch this season, we just had to add some new pillows too! For this collection, like all of our lines, we designed the pillows colorwise and pattern-wise to all work together. But there are some fun surprises too (including new floor pillows and a brand-new ruffle pillow […]
Outdoor dining table scene in front of ivy brick wall with a beautiful beige geometric outdoor rug
product lines

The Chris Loves Julia x Loloi Rugs Fall 2024 Collection

I can't believe this is our fourth year working with Loloi! For this season's rugs, we are bringing in new styles that haven’t been seen before, which is really fun. It's also exciting to be able to expand popular collections like the Jules rug, which offers beautiful vintage-style rug patterns at an affordable price. For […]
Learn With Us
Want to do what we do? Get the tools, mentorship, and training to be a Good Influencer professionally.
Learn More
Looking for Something?

SEARCH THE BLOG

We've been doing this since 2009 and we've posted a whopping 24145+ blog posts and counting. You might need a little help searching, huh?

Can We Send You Our Love Letter?

Another way for us to stay in touch! Joining our weekly newsletter gives you access to exclusive content, never-before-seen photos, your questions answered, and our favorite DIYs. Sign up below!

hello world!
Follow Along on Instagram
Welcome to our online community where we've posted home, DIY, style, renovations, and family since '09. Renovating our #cljmoderncottage in Idaho and headed for new adventures in Raleigh, NC. #cljfam #cljtransformations
© 2024 Chris Loves Julia, LLC
PRIVACY POLICYTERMS & CONDITIONSAFFILIATE DISCLAIMERSITE CREDITCOMMUNITY GUIDELINES