Rocio, I know nothing about electricity, I just remembered we were told to replace the metal plates with plastic plates because of the safety hazard (our buildings are extremely old on our base). You might be able to get a more definitive answer by calling your local electrician or your power company. Of course, every situation is different, you might check with your local electrician. You can definitely paint on plastic. I even use acrylic paints but you have to put a good varnish over it to keep it from scratching off. I never wanted to go to the expense of buying "enamel or plastic" paints so I just make sure I put on several coats of water base varnish and it worked for me. Good luck

Rule of thumb, try to never paint over a shiny surface(of any kind) without doing some sort of prep. You have to break the surface sheen by either uniformly sanding with a light grit(220) or priming with a good sandable-type primer. I prefer to use Gripper primer on everything to provide uniformity and adhesion. Plus I ALWAYS prefer to prime vs. sanding (unless there is surface imperfections of some sort)mainly because of cleanliness(because you know that dust will somehow find it's way into your paint finish!!) Gripper is sold at Home Depot, by the way.. --Dave

Thanks for the inputs. Sanding would work but the room is large and I was looking for an easier solution. I can't afford to have a professional do it. The glaze is really thick so looks like days of work ahead! Bummer!!! I hate faux finishes as much as wallpaper!

You don't need to sand it if you degloss it with Dirtex or Jasco TSP "substitute". You'll need a silver base to cover the existing gold tone. Most craft shops have antiquing paints and ideas. Michael