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How to paint a fridge

Transform your fridge with a lick of paint


How to paint a fridge

Are your white goods looking a bit worse for wear? Are you bored of your plain fridge and fancy a pop of colour in the kitchen? If your budget is tight, then avoid buying new appliances and consider transforming them with a coat of paint instead. It only takes a day or so and you’ll save a lot of money. Plus, you can choose exactly the colour you want to fit with your interior style! Hot pink fridge anyone?

This hack is particularly great if you love the retro kitchen look, but don't have the budget for a new retro fridge-freezer or have a very specific colour in mind

A fridge before and after painting

How to paint a fridge

You will need

  • Dust sheets
  • Sponge
  • Rubber gloves
  • Ammonia-based cleaner, such as glass cleaner
  • Lint-free cloth
  • Steel wool scourer
  • Medium and fine sandpaper
  • Clean paintbrush
  • Masking tape
  • Rust-Oleum Mode Primer
  • Rust-Oleum Mode Spray Paint

Step 1

First, cover the area underneath and around the fridge with dust sheets to protect flooring from dust and paint drips. Using a sponge, soap and water, clean the surface thoroughly. All wax, oil and grease should be removed.

Next, rub the fridge with an ammonia-based cleaner. Many household cleaning solutions contain ammonia (although you can use one-part water and one-part white vinegar instead). Mix the cleaner with water and sponge all over the surface, then dry it with a lint-free cloth or leave to air dry. Use a steel wool scourer to remove any remaining encrusted food and debris.

Now the fridge is clean and dry, you will need to sand it to provide a ‘key’ –  this is a surface that paint will more readily adhere to. Choose a medium sandpaper and rub all over the appliance, wherever it will be painted. Dust the surface with a clean paintbrush, then sand a second time, with a finer sandpaper.

Carefully cover any areas you want to protect from paint with masking tape. This includes door handles and rubber seals. Press the tape down firmly to ensure no paint can creep underneath it.

Once you’ve refreshed your fridge, you might feel that the kitchen cupboards are suddenly looking a little tired in comparison. Why not give them a lick of paint too and achieve a slick and modern high-gloss look?

Be sure to clean and prime the surfaces, as per the steps above. Note that if the doors are wooden, you will need to sand in the direction of the wood grain.

Want some new retro kitchen goods to go with your freshly painted fridge? Check out these retro microwaves, retro kettles and retro lamps

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