Repainting Outdoor Light Fixtures

When repainting outdoor light fixtures, or anything outdoors in Florida, there has to be an extra type of care involved to ensure the paint job will endure the Florida sun and overall climate.

A visitor to our website recently wrote to us:

We have some really nice lights on the front of our home and the current paint job is starting to peel. What causes the paint to peel, how can we repaint them, and what paint should be used?

I responded as follows:

In this picture, you will see some very expensive lights on the front of a home that we just painted. I completely understand what you are saying - these lights are so expensive and you really don’t want to have to go out and purchase new ones, especially if you really like your lights.

Well, don't worry - they can be repainted. The light fixtures will have to be taken down. You will then have to remove the glass and lightly wash them with a bleach-and-water solution, then rinse with clean water and allow drying.

The next step is to scrape off any and all loose paint, lightly sand the fixtures, wipe off any dust after sanding them and then seal the entire metal surface that you are going to paint with Seal Krete clear sealer. You can purchase this at Home Depot. Allow the sealer to dry.

Next, you purchase a premium level paint, like Sherwin Williams Resilience. The reason I recommend Resilience is that you only need to buy a quart and it is offered in a gloss and satin finish. I prefer the gloss finish.

Now, all you have to do is paint the lights. Once the paint is dry, put in the glass and rehang your light fixtures. You may want to hire an electrician to rehang the lights, depending on your local codes.

 In the lights you see in this post, we used Modern Masters Metallic Black Pearl and hand painted the lights.

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