How to Give Your Mailbox a Bright Makeover

Right now, I’m paying “rent” to my roomie via DIY projects. It’s a pretty sweet deal if you ask me. (More on that here)

So, I’ve been slowly taking inventory at Janimal’s house and seeing what I can transform to make it even more fabulous.

My mom recently painted her front door a bright and cheery yellow. We are both obsessed with it, and it really transformed the entire front of her house. It’s happy, welcoming, and friendly…just like my mom! (She also made that burlap bubble wreath using Bridget’s tutorial.)

Anyways, my mom had some leftover yellow paint from her door project and I figured I might as well put it to good use. When I spotted her mailbox…I instantly knew that the yellow paint would go towards giving that bad boy a makeover.

The Mailbox Before

Her mailbox wasn’t too horrible. It just didn’t really have much personality. Also, it was rusting and the painted wood was a chippy mess. Time for me to step in and bring this bad boy back to life!

I came up with a quick gameplan, consulted my roomie, and got to work.

My first order of business…take those rusted address numbers off of the wood base.

I thought this would take me 10 minutes tops…boy was I wrong!

Those suckers didn’t want to go anywhere. That was their home for the past 15+ years and they didn’t feel like packing their bags.

After lots of prying, sweating, and maybe a bit of cursing I finally got each number off of the post.

My original plan was to reuse the numbers and spray paint them white. I moved to plan B after mangling those numbers up, and decided to buy some cheap new ones.

A quick coat of Rustoleum primer, followed up by a quick coat of Rustoleum satin spray paint (in white) and I had some new numbers all ready to go.

While those dried, I got to work on the actual mailbox.

My mom purchased a new one (@ Lowe’s for $11) simply because the current black one was incredibly creaky, old, and rusted. We decided the $11 price tag was worth it.

Now, I knew that I didn’t just want to use a paint brush to paint the metal mailbox because it could leave some noticeable paint strokes. Spray paint would give me the smooth, even finish I wanted…but there was no way I could match the yellow of the door to a random yellow can of spray paint.

That is when HomeRight came to the rescue! They recently sent me a new fine finish sprayer to try out, and this project turned out to be the perfect test for this neat gadget.

I could use the yellow paint from the door AND have the even, smooth finish on the metal mailbox. #doubleplay

The paint is “Summer in the City” if you’re interested in a nice yellow paint.

I was a bit intimidated to try out my new toy, but it was seriously so easy. Tomorrow I’ll walk you through the steps and I’ll offer some advice on this handy sprayer.

3 light coats was all it took to bring this gray mailbox from blah…to bright and beautiful!

Next up, tackling that chippy mailbox post.

I used my palm sander to get rid of the years of gunk and goo on the wooden post. Then I wiped it down really good before whipping out the white primer.

I used my favorite Zinsser primer and did a light coat all over the wood with a paint brush.

After it dried, it was time to bring out the brown paint.

I used the color “bark brown” and chose one that would last in harsh outdoor conditions.

My HomeRight sprayer again came in handy for this part of the project. I was able to get a nice even coat on the entire post in less than 5 minutes. I’m guessing this part went about 3x faster using the fine finish sprayer. #lifesaver

The sprayer also helped cover all of the nooks and crannies on the post, without the paint globbing up and creating a thick coat.

The Mailbox After

Then it was just a matter of attaching the new mailbox and hammering in the bright white letters.

A pretty dramatic before and after, right?

I love how the mailbox complements the front door. It makes the front of the house bright, without overwhelming it with color.

My roomie is definitely pleased with her new mailbox. I’m hoping this project buys me at least a few more weeks, before I’m evicted.

Casey

Want to add more curb appeal to your home? Check out this post to create a modern address sign for your home!