Mailbox Makeover

Mailbox Makeover: How to Refresh an Old Mailbox

This project was from our old house in California. When we first moved in, our mailbox looked like this. Since our last name isn’t O’Brian, we purchased a new one and replaced it. Ha! A couple short years later, it was already time for a mailbox makeover, 1) because the “new” one already faded from direct sunlight, and 2) we painted our house from brown and tan to black and gray.

This is such a simple weekend DIY project, or shall I say, Sunday project because it’s the mailman’s day off. It takes less than an hour including drying time and is great for curb appeal. Here was our mailbox before.

The pole wasn’t looking very great either.

Here is What You’ll Need

Time: 2 hours

Materials:

Screwdriver
Wire Metal Brush
Cloth
Indoor/Outdoor Spray Paint for Metal
Outdoor Paint and Paintbrush (Optional for Pole)

Making Over our Mailbox

First, we removed all the hardware with a screwdriver or drill. Remove the flag, handle, and the box from the pole.

Since this mailbox is only a couple years old, there wasn’t any rust. If there is rust on your mailbox, a wire metal brush works great. You will also need to prime it before you paint. Just gently scrub the rusted area and then wipe and clean away the debris. We used Rust-Oleum brand indoor/outdoor spray paint for metal that I purchased from Home Depot. We used pewter gray for the mailbox, red for the flag, and black for the handle and spray painted two coats outside in a well ventilated area. If you need to prime it first, look for a paint and primer in one spray paint. For more tips on painting metal, check out how we painted our metal gate (this makeover is amazing…).

While the paint was drying, I painted the pole black with leftover exterior paint we had from painting our house.

My husband reassembled everything. It’s amazing how such a small thing can be a huge eyesore. Now it looks great and blends in perfectly with our house. The light gray was the right choice, as the color did not fade after years of direct sunlight.

Mailbox Makeover