I'm not sure it will look right. I'd really think it thru because you can never go back. Have you thought about just covering it over with drywall above the mantel, put on a different mantel and ceramic tileing the hearth?
Instead of true whitewashing, I have a suggestion. Clean off the hearth with soap and water, then dry with an old rag. Use drop cloths or newspapers, and tape off the floor and the next level of bricks so you can work more efficiently. In a plastic bowl, pour a whole bottle of liquid white shoe polish (not shoe paint!) and a bottle full of water, swishing out the polish that had been left in the bottle from the first pour. Stir the polish and water until the polish doesn’t any lumps left and the water looks smoothly white.
Then use a 4-6” brush, dipped into the polish water then most of the liquid brush on newspapers or even squeezed out so that you have a semi-dry brush ready. Then whitewash the hearth, going from stone to stone, across the cement sometimes, but not covering any stone completely. Do the whole hearth, let it dry quickly, and look at it. Do you like how it looks, after the show polish white wash?
If you like the shoe polish, finish the whole fireplace up to the ceiling with rither the diluted shoe polish, or diluted white paint. If you don’t like the look of the shoe polish, then clean it off the hearth, using a scrubbing brush, water and paper towels, since the floor is still protected. You can also dry brush in any color paint, so you might want to think about that before you decide.
Fireplace is painted black. I want to whitewash it but not up for sandblasting or stripping the paint off these bricks...can this be done? If so...how? Once this is d...
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I'm not sure it will look right. I'd really think it thru because you can never go back. Have you thought about just covering it over with drywall above the mantel, put on a different mantel and ceramic tileing the hearth?
Maybe the surface could be lightened up with a wire sanding disk?
https://www.hometalk.com/search/posts?filter=white%20wash%20fireplace. This is the simplest whitewash site I found, also. But when I looked at your photo, I said to myself, “Look at that old mountain fireplace. You don’t find those every day.”
Instead of true whitewashing, I have a suggestion. Clean off the hearth with soap and water, then dry with an old rag. Use drop cloths or newspapers, and tape off the floor and the next level of bricks so you can work more efficiently. In a plastic bowl, pour a whole bottle of liquid white shoe polish (not shoe paint!) and a bottle full of water, swishing out the polish that had been left in the bottle from the first pour. Stir the polish and water until the polish doesn’t any lumps left and the water looks smoothly white.
Then use a 4-6” brush, dipped into the polish water then most of the liquid brush on newspapers or even squeezed out so that you have a semi-dry brush ready. Then whitewash the hearth, going from stone to stone, across the cement sometimes, but not covering any stone completely. Do the whole hearth, let it dry quickly, and look at it. Do you like how it looks, after the show polish white wash?
If you like the shoe polish, finish the whole fireplace up to the ceiling with rither the diluted shoe polish, or diluted white paint. If you don’t like the look of the shoe polish, then clean it off the hearth, using a scrubbing brush, water and paper towels, since the floor is still protected. You can also dry brush in any color paint, so you might want to think about that before you decide.
Best wishes, “C”! ☺️
Hi! I agree that it's dark. Here's excellent directions:
http://www.coastalcollectiveco.com/blog/how-to-whitewash-stone-diy-fireplace-makeover