How to Make Old Heat Registers Look New

Most people care a lot about the way their home looks and feels. The little things we do around the house all add up. The end result is the home we've created. Every little thing that we do helps to improve both the look and the feel.

The floors are a big part of a house. Most floors are either wood, vinyl, or carpet. Most homes have heat sources which require vents. The hot air is forced through the heat ducts of the home and enters the room through the space the heat register covers. Heat registers are usually metal. They are sometimes colored, mostly white, or have a shiny metal surface. Over time the surface gets dingy. There may be chips out of the paint or there may be dullness where once there was shine.

All different types and sizes of homes have heat registers. All homeowners want their floors to look great. Why not spruce up your heat registers to help improve the look of your floors? It's quite simple to do. Here's how!

The first thing to do to make your old heat registers look new again is to get the right paint for the job. Your local hardware store will carry a variety of high temperature spray paints. They'll come in all sorts of colors, from your standard white to a beautiful and soft gold metallic color. Once you've chosen the paint you will be using your ready to get the job done.

It is best to do one register at a time. Otherwise there will several exposed holes in your floor where children or pets may be used to walking. Carefully remove the first register to be painted. You will need either a flat head or a Phillips head screw driver. The register will generally have four little screws holding it in place, one in each corner.

Once you have removed the screws set them aside in a safe place. You don't want them to get scattered or lost. Next, find an old wire coat hanger. Undo the coat hanger and straighten it out. You will use this to hang the register with.

Take the register, hanger, and your paint to a well ventilated area. Outside is best. Spray paint fumes should not be inhaled so this is a project to do in a spot where children will not be. It takes less then five minutes per register.

Next find a place to hang the register. Maybe it could be a screw in the wall, or a nail. It is best to hang a register to paint it because a register has many angles from which it needs to be sprayed. The spray has to be sprayed from all directions in order to get all of the multiple surfaces of both the inside and outside of the register.

Hold the spray can about eight inches from the register and lightly apply the paint by making steady back and forth movements. Move from side to side while continuously altering the angle from which you are spraying.

A second coat is often not needed. Heat registers freshen up well with just one coat. If you'd like your finish to be a little brighter though allow the first coat to dry for ten minutes the then spray again.

Let the register hang for about twenty minutes after the last coat. Most paints dry very quickly. After twenty minutes you can take the register down and put it back. Once the screws are back in place you are done. Your floor will look new and improved because of this. Thanks for reading and take care!