Lampshades - Can I paint over gold interior?

14 years ago

I have 2 beautiful lamps we bought a few years ago that have unusal lampshades (but size and style). The shades are a "very thick paper" on the outside and siny gold on the inside. The shiny gold is the problem. It reflects almost no light into the dark room and the lamps become very hot underneath.

I planned on just buying new shades but have had NO LUCK finding anything close to the right style/size. I like the OUTSIDE of the current shades and thought I might just try to tape the shades off and prime/paint over the gold. Do you think this is possible or will it just flake right off?

The lamps are in the garage collecting dust and I hate to not use them. Any suggestions? Thanks.

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Comments (6)

neetsiepie
14 years ago
Not a good idea. Most paint isn't going to hold up to the heat, and every single brush stroke will show every time you have the light on. Keep shopping for new shades.
denali2007
14 years ago
Try this place for custom shades. There has been some good reviews and you can get the correct size.

Here is a link that might be useful: lamp shades
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Thanks so much for the input and sharing photos. I'm so at a loss here as to what to do! I've actually considered all the colors mentioned in the thread at one point or another, and it's tough to imagine what it would look like covering your entire house! That's a lot of surface area. I also get so influenced by the name of the color. Does that happen to any of you? For example, if the name of the color has the word "cream" or "ivory" in it, I'll consider it more seriously than if the color has the word "yellow" or "gold", even though the latter might be more of what I'm looking for. Isn't that weird. Ponydoc, I actually really like how vanillin and inviting ivory look in your pictures. I worried that there wouldn't be enough of a contrast between those colors and my trim, but I can see from your pictures that there is contrast. I really like Jersey Cream, but I worry that it will read more pale yellow than cream, which is what I'd prefer. I was pretty sold no Napery, but it just didn't seem like there was enough contrast between that and Dover White. I agree that Compatible cream is too gold (as a previous poster mentioned) for an overall color for our house. I'm going to use it as accent color though. Why is this so hard! Ok, I think I have one more day to make up my mind. Any more pictures would be so much appreciated! Thanks!
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greenmtn
Original Author
14 years ago
denali - thanks for the link. Unfortunately, my size would run $41. Times 2 lamps that is over what I want to spend.

I love the outside of my current shades. They are very unique and look beautiful with the lamps. It is just the GOLD INSIDE that doesn't work.

My first plan was to spray paint the inside. I wonder if I might be able to cover the inside with something? If they were just plain shades I would give up. But they are really pretty and actually might be hand painted in a tone on tone type stripe.
datura-07
14 years ago
Not sure what colors there are but I know my dh has paint for painting engines. Maybe they have more than just black.

Are there two layers or just one and the back is black?

If there are two layers, can you cut out one layer?
begoniagirl
14 years ago
Would you consider spending the money on purchasing another light source to combine with your lamps to provide more light for the room? Perhaps a floor lamp with a shade or torchiere (uplight). The money might be more well-spent on an additional lamp instead of trying to fix the shades because painting the shades may turn into a disaster and the way you describe them with the gold lining sounds warm and beautiful even if the light level is lower than you want. Just a thought....
les917
14 years ago
Hmmm, I am surprised that you feel that way - the gold often bounces more light because it is reflective. Are you saying that the shades are too thick to let light through them? Then painting over the gold won't allow any more light through - in fact, it will create another layer of paint that will block more light.

Also, it concerns me that the lamps are becoming that hot - did you check to be sure what the max wattage should be for the lamps?

Before you rule out new shades, take one of the lamps with you to a lamp shop and try all kinds of shades. You might be surprised at what other styles would work, and perhaps even something you could find at Target or someplace like that. But the only way to do that effectively is to have the lamp with you.

Good luck.

Lampshades - Can I paint over gold interior?

Comments (6)

neetsiepie

denali2007

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Lampshades - Can I paint over gold interior?

Comments (6)

neetsiepie

denali2007

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greenmtnOriginal Author

datura-07

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