How To Paint Fireplace Brick

Before you get started painting begin by vacuuming the bricks. After you have vacuumed the bricks and mortar use the vacuum to clean around the fireplace opening and inside.

Remove all the dust and if you find any wax like we did use a knife to carve it off of the brick.

Next take the painters tape and tape around the fireplace so the paint will not touch the black part of the fireplace.

Also tape off the mantel if you are not planning to paint the mantle. Drape the plastic dropcloth over the mantle and tape it down too.

After you have the fireplace and mantle taped off lay out the plastic drop cloth on the floor and tape it down up again the fireplace hearth. This will help keep the floor free of paint.

Last, tape along the wall where the fireplace brick and the wall meet. It is important to score along the tape edge or paint might get under the tape.

Now it is time to start painting.

Now it also helps to have one or two other people. One can brush or sponge while the other rolls. I do not have a photo of Savanna rolling the brick but I did have this photo so you can see what kind of roller we used.

It is a longer nap roller which helps get the paint between the cracks. But honestly we still needed to use the sponge brush or paint brush so I think you can use just about any nap roller.

Pour some paint in your roller tray and start rolling paint onto the bricks. While one person rolls another person can dip the sponge brush into the can of paint and start pressing paint into the mortar.

If you are doing this project by yourself I would recommend doing the mortar part first then coming back with the roller.

It also helps to do it in section. Trim and paint the top part first. Once you have finished take a break and come back and do the bottom.

Another tip is to start at the top of the fireplace and work your way down. We painted the crown the same as the fireplace because it was already white but not exactly the same white. So to make it all flow together we gave it a coat of paint as well.

Once you have finished painting the bricks go ahead and take off the painters tape. I recommend doing it while things are still a little wet because if you let it get good and dry and the paint is stuck to the tape then the paint may come off too.

Can you believe it? You have a completely different fireplace that has changed the whole feel of your room.

If you'd like some tips on decorating your fireplace mantle now that it's painted check out this post or this one!