Turn Old Kitchen Appliances Into Sleek Stainless Steel Showstoppers

You're yelling at people on TV again. It's your favorite real estate reality show, and the house hunters are bemoaning perfectly serviceable kitchen appliances because they're stark white. Whether they're a decade old or were delivered yesterday, there's a prejudice against kitchen machinery that isn't stainless steel. Giving kitchen fixtures a faux-stainless facelift with paint is a much wiser investment than chucking them out for brand new ones. 

But wait — aren't metal appliances among the things you should never paint in your kitchen? If you're talking about your basic indoor paint, this is correct. But now, there are products that exist for the sole purpose of giving tired appliances a fresh face. Most are spray paints, but there have been brush-on products available in the past, giving us a bit of hope they'll appear again. And high-quality contact paper offers a paintless possibility that leaves users happy as well. So pick up a clever product for a budget-friendly kitchen upgrade that'll fool the most discerning eye.

There's a nearly legendary brush-on paint that popped up on socials a few years ago called Liquid Stainless Steel, which is frustratingly not available right now. As an alternative, Rust-Oleum Appliance Epoxy Enamel is a crowd pleaser. However, the stainless steel-color appliance paint comes only in spray form. If spraying your fixtures doesn't sound daunting, move forward with this product, and try out these time-saving tips that make spray painting a breeze.

Rust-Oleum's appliance spray paints are made to bond with metal and come in a convincing stainless steel tint. This spray paint is highly rated on Amazon, but some reviewers share that the results weren't quite the right color or smooth enough for their liking. Using spray paint indoors can be a bit of a mess, not to mention a health concern. Some of your appliances may have removable faces that you can take outdoors for spray painting. Otherwise, it's hard if not impossible to move some appliances outdoors for painting, so a product that doesn't produce clouds of particulate matter as you paint may appeal more to you.

Unfortunately, brush-on stainless-look paint is hard to come by currently. If a spray's clouds of propellant and paint in your kitchen is putting you off the idea of a stainless upgrade, a stick-on solution might save the day. Self-adhesive products, like Livelynine Silver Stainless Steel Contact Paper, earn a reassuring amount of five-star reviews.