DIY Nautical Porthole Mirror Makeover

I used a circular mirror that used to hang in the entryway, but has been in hiding since our unfortunate house fire two days before Christmas 2013.  The horrible kitchen fire spread soot everywhere!!   So, I have finally starting placing the wall decor back on the walls after months of professional cleaning and painting.

What You Need:

• 120 grit sandpaper
• gold metallic paint (I used this one)
• sponge brushes
• upholstery tacks
• painters tape
• wire cutter
• glue gun or E6000

First you will need to lightly sand the mirror with your sand paper.  Be sure to sand between the grooves should your mirror have any.  Then, clean off any residue with a rag.  Apply your painters tape to the inner ring of the mirror frame.  I used a butter knife to push the tape end just slightly under the wood frame so that I could get the paint right to the edge of the mirror.  You can see the original wood frame reflected around the edge of the mirror if it is not painted gold all the way down.

Paint the mirror gold with a sponge or spray paint, whichever method you prefer.  I painted mine with the Elegant Finish paint and applied 3 coats.  This paint dries exceptionally fast.  The first coat on the top was already dry by the time I had finished the inner and outer rings or the mirror.

You will need to prep the tacks next.  I tried to hammer in the tacks, but the wood was not giving in to the tacks.  If this is the same case for you, you will need to cut off the nail portion of the tacks using wire cutters.  Adhere the tacks to the frame using an adhesive.  I used my trusty glue gun, but you could use something more permanent like E6000.  I used the glue gun just in case I want to change the mirror in the future……….and because I couldn’t find where I stored my E6000.

The final step is optional.  I like the look of gold leaf that my inspiration mirror had.  So, you can easily apply that to the mirror after the tacks.  The inspiration mirror had the gold leaf over some of the tacks as well, so don’t get anxious if the gold leaf gets on the tacks.  The whole project took me about 1 hour.  It shouldn’t be so long for you, unless you also want to stop to take pictures too!  What do you think of the new mirror?