How do I paint my fireplace brick?

Sand it off with a sander to see how it works and don't paint it,just leave it.

instead of trying to match exactly, which I'm sure would be nearly impossible, why not just paint it white, or cream?

It's very hard to get paint off of brick once it's been painted. I think you have to basically sand blast to get it off. Most likely your best bet would be to paint the whole thing in whatever color you choose.

Why do you want to paint/color brick? Think about applying tile, marble, mirrors. There are extensive sizes, shapes, colors, and textures of tile as is marble. With a little imagination you can create the unusual and if it is a working fireplace. Should it soot up. It will be easy to clean.

Go to your nearest paint store with your questions , you may have to rough sand to apply a different paint ?

Since brick is porous it's almost impossible to remove all the paint. I would prime with Zinsser primer and paint a color of your choice.

We painted our fireplace with good-quality Behr interior paint from Home Depot. Didn't even prime it first, and it came out beautifully!

I WOULD USE A PRIMER FIRST TO MAKE SURE ALL CRACKERS ARE SEALED THEN PAINT THE COLOR OF YOUR CHOICE. MAYBE MAKE IT THE SAME COLOR OF THE COLOR BRICK OR CREAM, WHITE. BEFORE APPLYING THE PAINT MAKE SURE THE PRIMER IS TOTALLY DRY. BEFORE YOU PAINT THE BRICKS . TEST IT WILL A COTTON BALL IF IT STICKS TO COTTON BALL THEN YOU KNOW IT'S NOT DRY. YOU COULD USE A FLAT PAINT OR SEMI GLOSS BUT NOT GLOSS IT WILL STAND OUT IF YOU USE GLOSS CLEAR COAT. MAY I MAKE A SUGGESTION TRY IT ON A BRICK FIRST FROM THE LUMBER YARD GET TWO ONE WITH THE PAINT OF YOUR CHOICE, THEN SEE IF YOU LIKE IT THE WAY IT IS. THE TRY USING THE GLOSS WITH THE PAINT THEN THE GLOSS YOU'LL SEE WHICH ONE IS BETTER. I PAINTED MINE WIT A FLAT PAINT BUT NOT GLOSS OF ANY KIND IT CAME OUT JUST THE WAY I LIKE IT .TEST EVERYTHING FIRST BEFORE DOING ANY DIY PROJECTS BETTER TOBE SAFE THAN SORRY.

Go to “BrickANew.com, ours turned out beautifu.

Wish you'd posted pics of the brick. There's lots of things you can do with paints, but it is true that getting old paint off of brick would likely require a sandblaster. Consider what your style is, and then see if any of these ideas inspire you:

http://mycolortopia.com/blog/color/diy-trick-painting-brick-stone#lEIWwfBzhtHwpVBK.97

http://www.erinspain.com/how-to-whitewash-a-brick-fireplace/

http://ladybutterbug.blogspot.com/2016/04/annie-sloan-chalk-paint-painted.html

(Annie Sloan chalk paint is expensive. You can make your own for way less with flat paint and some plaster of paris. Lowe's has a recipe to follow.)

Good luck!

I have a brick fireplace as well. I opted to white wash mine, so you still see some of the reddish orange colors but it softened it! It made it look a little more updated! I simply took some of my white paint that I had left over from painting in another room and put a little water in it and used a smaller roller to apply. make sure you make enough though, cause you don’t want to run out half way through!It could be hard to match it with what was already done!

You could do a German Schmear.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJqFuG1rJGI with joint compound premix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBQFvb-5xVo or with mortar mix

Paint or white wash? I wanted a white wash look. I used 1 cup gloss white paint to 2 cups water mixed well. Use more or less paint for more or less of the painted look. Or, repaint a second coat. I used a brush in order to cut it out of the original grout. I liked the dark grey as the grout is. First clean the bricks with TSP using a stiff brush, let dry. Then white wash. It won't matter if your painted bricks are whiter as all bricks will be shaded lighter or darker white.

Any ideas for reusing pellets, wooden?