Yes - I did this. Sorry don't have a picture to show you. I didn't do black, but a hammered sort of pewter on the one I did. Be careful to tape off the motor and electrical so you don't get the paint on it.

What type of paint did you use? Did you use spray paint, or brush the paint on? Was it a major pain to accomplish?

I have painted ceiling fan metal parts. At first it was quite by accident when I was in a hurry painting the blades while still attached to the fan......so as such the metal parts where painted with regular semi-gloss paint. Years later the paint was still holding up likely because the parts are never really touched, except for occasional dusting.

Maybe you can consider replacement ceiling fan blades. There are many different themes and colours on the market today.

Here is a link that might be usefull

Here is a link that might be useful: Ceiling Fan Parts

I wanted to paint a brown CF white and they said don't do it because the paint will throw off the balance and it won't run smoothly. Their reasoning is that one might paint unevenly. I'm not sure if this applies to the hardware though.

I would think that even on the very off chance that a thin coat of paint could unbalance a ceiling fan, you could correct it with a blade balancing kit. I've painted light fixtures and cabinet pulls before with Rustoleum ORB spray paint and I love it. My only prep was rubbing the original finish lightly with steel wool to ensure the paint would stick. It certainly seems worth a try on a ceiling fan!

DS used a flat black spray paint on the motor and hardware.
It made an amazing difference. No peeling or flaking and lots of nice comments.

"...painting a ceiling fan throws the retailer off balance."

LOL, littledog, you are so right!

I think I'm going to do it after reading this thread! That brown fan is driving me crazy, I like my fans to blend into the ceiling as much as possible.

Littledog: your comment is right on, I agree!

I just wonder if spray painting a fan would get paint inside the motor. Emmachas, did DS tape any parts of the fan off before he sprayed it?

gardenwebber,
DS removed the wooden blades from the blade hardware.
Then the blade hardware from the motor.
Next she removed the bottom plate from the motor housing--that's where the visible openings to the motor were.
She spray painted each piece along with the motor housing side and outer edges only of the top, the ceiling cover(?), the extension pipe, and the tops of all screws.
The only thing taped was the center of the top of motor housing. There were some openings there, and that part would not be visible.
She did this when we were renovating our parents' home. I looked at all the parts spread out in the garage and mentally calculated how much it would cost us to replace that fan. I was sure she would never get it back together again! But she did. And it looked spectacular! --- So good that we wound up spray painting every one in the house. They all looked new!

For enmeshed - did you use a semi gloss spray paint? Did you prime the service? If so, how? Thanks!!!