Houzz Logo Print
franksmom_2010

Help me refinish this lamp

13 years ago

So. I was looking for a floor lamp to add to the lighting in the living room, and found this at a junk shop for $4. I found the shade on another shopping trip today. It needs a better, older finial, but here it is (with Frank):





The new shade:





And the base:





I'm not sure if the base is brass or plated pot metal. It's not magnetic, and I like the patina on it, so it stays. I may cheat and add some brown/black "patina" via craft paint.

The swing arm and pole are brass plate, and are showing some wear, but still have that tinny-shiney fake brass look. I'm going to paint the arm to match the base, using that no-prep metal paint.

The question is, what about the pole? Metallic spray paint next to the real deal looks like...spray paint. I was looking at pics of vintage/antique brass lamps, and saw that Stiffel and others used a cream-colored enamel a lot as trim. There was also a lot of black.

So, let me hear it! Black pole, cream pole, some other sort of metallic finish?

Comments (13)