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DIY Painted Frame Tutorial

I am currently working a gallery wall for our living/dining area. I had some older frames that didn't really match, so instead of buying all new ones I decided to just make the older frames match. It was very easy and they look great. I had scoured Pinterest for a painted frame tutorial but all I found was distressed frame tutorials (and my husband isn't into the distressed/rustic look), so I just decided to jump in and wing it.

What you will need:

Your old frames (or any frame)

Sand paper (I used a fine grit)

Paint of your choice ( I used a gold acrylic for 2 of my frames and a bronze spray paint for the other 2)

First cover your work area. Second step is sanding. Make sure you get the entire frame, make it nice and rough to give the paint something to stick to. This part was very messy. I sanded a black frame and I ended up with black covering my hands, my work space, and my clothes.

^ My frame after sanding. Looks terrible now, but it will look great in a bit.

The next step is to wipe off the frame. I used a damp paper towel to wipe my frames down. After you wipe your frames down it is time to paint. This particular frame I used the acrylic paint, so I needed a brush. For most of my projects I use foam brushes, but I decided to use an actual brush for this one.
It will take a few coats to look like nice, make sure you let each coat dry completely before adding another coat. The corners were tricky to get looking just right. I had to brush the paint at an angle at each corner which was difficult for me. After 3 or 4 coats it looked how I wanted.

In some areas the black comes through a bit, but I felt like that gave it a bit more character.

For the other frames I used spray paint. Obviously with spray paint you want to do it in a well ventilated area like an open garage or shop, or just outside. We live in an apartment so I did on our balcony. Again, cover the area. I also put 2 small wood slats under my frame to keep the paint from sticking onto other things while drying. Here is what my frame looked like before:

I sanded it really well and then did 2 coats of spray paint, letting it dry completely after each coat. Here is what it looks like now:

There were a few drip marks, but I think imperfections are better. It took me probably about 4ish hours to do all four, and most of that was waiting on paint to dry, and only having enough room to do one frame at a time. The total cost wasn't much since I already had the frames and sand paper. I spent about 50 cents on a brush, around $2 on the acrylic paint, and $4 on the spray paint. I still have plenty left over for when I tackle the frames in my hallway too. I will definitely make another post when I finish the gallery wall. Right now we are still working on the sign for the centerpiece and one decorate piece.