How to refinish a fireplace to look like concrete

You can make a brick fireplace look like concrete by covering it with chickenwire and, using grey mortar compound (or spackling) and a trowel, smooth the finish to a "concrete" look. When it is dry, you can go over it with a concrete stain in whatever color you want, and finish it according to the instructions on the stain container. Or you can leave it grey and just give it a coat of wax, and Voila'! You have a "concrete" fireplace. I assume you were just going to refinish the exterior?

Buy a bag of Quickcrete or similar product at your local big box store. Take the dimensions of the fireplace and one of the staff will be able to help you decide how much of the product you will need to complete the project. The quickcrete is mixed with water.....maybe in a 5-gallon paint bucket. It mixes pretty well with a long handled mop or broom. Be patient and mix it so it is rather thick and can be applied with a metal spatula or something bigger. Start at the top and work down the fireplace and smooth to the finish you like. Smooth will take more time and expertise. Let dry and it will cover the brick and mortar and be a more even finish than before. You may have to do more than one coat of the mixture to make your fireplace look the way you want it to look. Good Luck! I have not done this but did paint a red brick fireplace white many years ago. I first used a moisture blocking primer so the paint didn't keep soaking into the brick, then painted it using a glossy white paint to finish it off and it looked so much better and lightened the room.

Go to Lowes or Home Depot and they have lots of different products available to do what you are thinking about.

Janice & Tillie have great ideas that can do with products from the stores I mentioned.

amateur... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zokG84ETDKE

pro.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8-9wgcYTOI&t=588s note he added metal mesh corners