Happy Monday and happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day. As today is a no-mail holiday in the US, the timing seemed perfect to do a little mailbox makeover!
For background, I knew as soon as I saw this mailbox in a catalog that I wanted a copper mailbox. Not only would it be a little more special, distinctive and pretty, but it would go with the lights I eventually want on the exterior of our house. Plus, we live on a county road and anything to help our driveway stand out a little more is welcome.
But for $200, I knew that mailbox wasn’t happening, which is why I thought “why not spray paint the mailbox I already have??” Long story short, I did it!
That’s right—I took on a quick mailbox makeover this weekend, and I’m so excited to share how it turned out!
The best part? You can do it, too! All you need is some spray paint and a Sunday!
PS: Just want to shop our supplies? Scroll to the end for a quick and easy shopping list!
Painting Your Mailbox
Obviously, the major transformation here was spray painting our mailbox copper. I used this hammered finish copper spray paint from Rust-Oleum.
It was easy enough to unscrew the mailbox from the stand, and then I just taped off the flag, very lightly sanded, and painted.
I sprayed right over the existing numbers because I didn’t think I could get them off. You can see the shape of them through the paint, but I don’t think it looks bad and you definitely don’t notice from a distance.
I started on the bottom and back so that I could stand it up in different ways as it dried, and I did light layers, drying for 30-90 minutes between coats until I liked the coverage.
Honestly, there are places where you see the hammered finish clearly and places where it doesn’t register at all—not sure that option is worth it. It did seem to have the most hammered looking finish in places where I sprayed the paint really close, but that also makes me nervous about drips.
New Numbers and a Light
As with when I painted outdoor furniture, the instant transformation of paint was so much fun! But there were a couple other steps I took to really make this a full-on mailbox makeover.
First, since I’d just painted over our house numbers, I cut out new numbers using my Cricut machine and some heavy duty black vinyl.
Once I applied the numbers, I gave it a spray with this clear coat.
(The clear coat did seem to cause one little spot to run so don’t spray too close with this, and maybe wait longer than I did to let the copper cure fully before using the clear coat.)
But the thing that’s really going to make it easier to find our house has to be this awesome mailbox light that we installed.
It was super easy to install, we just unscrewed the existing top and screwed the light on. (You’ll have to measure your mailbox post to be sure your light will fit—ours is on a 3 inch post and the light fit perfectly.)
The best part is that this light is solar powered so there was no wiring or anything. I’m a little nervous about how it will do during Minnesota winters, but for now it’s awesome and truly makes it easy to see where to turn for our house.
The Finished Product
I’m obsessed with how this turned out, and it was such a quick and easy weekend project!
It’s also perfect for the season as the copper looks so great with Minnesota’s beautiful fall colors. But I really can’t wait to see it against the snow in the winter—it’s going to look great.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments—would you take on a mailbox makeover? What’s your dream mailbox color?
Mailbox Makeover Sources
- Mailbox post was existing but this one is super similar (might be the same one?)
- Solar Mailbox Post Light
- Copper Spray Paint
- Clear Coat Spray Paint
- Cricut Vinyl
- Cricut Machine
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