Old Lamp Shines Again!
I bought a box of odds and ends at auction and when I got it home I noticed there was a little touch lamp in the box. It was old and tarnished and when I tapped my fingernail on the shade it sounded like plastic. It looked like maybe the “stained glass” might be stickers. But I had been looking for a little touch lamp for my sofa table…and this one worked perfectly for size and functionality…so I thought maybe I could jazz it up?
The first thing I did was give it a good cleaning with soapy water and then take it all apart. This was easy enough – I just had to remove a few screws.
As I was cleaning the shade, it started to really shine and sound/feel more like glass than plastic! So I cleaned the shade a second time with rubbing alcohol. And once all the years of dirt and grime were washed away, I was very delighted to realize the shade was glass after all!!
The next step was to paint the lamp. I placed the cord inside a baggie and used an elastic band to keep it in place.
Then I folded up a paper towel to push down into the light socket, to protect it from paint over-spray.
Then I painted everything, except the glass panels, with flat black spray paint. I was really hoping the “touch lamp feature” would still work after it was painted. And it did!
Then I reassembled everything and brought it to its final destination – my sofa table.
I’m so happy with the way this project turned out. It was so quick and easy and the cost was next to nothing. It was definitely a reminder that sometimes a little effort goes a long way.
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GeorgiaBulldogsFan on Oct 02, 2020
Love this project! You saw that it was a “diamond” in the rough! Painting the metal black made it pop! Wonderful, too, that the panels were glass rather than plastic. Beautiful addition to your home. Superb job!!!
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Valerie Burge on Oct 02, 2020
Thank you so much! I'm very happy it turned out so well. :)
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