This post is sponsored by Wagner. All opinions are my own.
Every spring, once we’re done with pollen season, I like to give my mailbox a fresh coat of paint. A realtor friend advised me years ago that mailboxes and exterior lights (like lampposts and porch lights) are usually neglected by homeowners and that painting them is one of the easiest ways to add instant curb appeal.
When we first moved into Magnolia Cottage last July, the mailbox was definitely in need of a little TLC, so it was one of the first projects on my list. I do find that mailboxes (and their wood posts) look best when they get a fresh coat of paint every year, so it’s just part of my spring routine.
The first step is to use a cleaning cloth and a hose to clean dirt, pollen, and cobwebs off of the mailbox and post. Remove the flag (if it’s faded you’ll want to replace it; I’ve linked to one below in my sources).
Since I had replaced the old reflector-style house numbers with white vinyl last summer, I had to peel that off next.
Then I lightly sanded to remove the remaining adhesive.
While I let things dry, I set up my new Wagner FLEXiO 4300 paint sprayer.
This was my first time using the FLEXiO and it has all the bells and whistles. You can use it for everything–big jobs like painting rooms and kitchen cabinets, or small jobs like my mailbox project. I’ve obviously used quite a few paint sprayers before and this one was easy to use, right out of the box. I selected the gravity-feed spray nozzle and added exterior black paint–no need to thin it because the X Boost Turbine can handle paint straight from the can.
You can control the paint flow and the air power based on the paint that you’re using and the needs of your project.
I was able to easily spray the inside of the mailbox.
Clean up is easy–just soap and water if you’re using latex paint, and it’s fast.
After the paint dried, I added the finishing touches. I cut a new set of house numbers using my Silhouette Cameo and applied them to both sides of the mailbox. (I’ll link below to an Etsy seller who can create something similar, or if you have a vinyl cutting machine, I used the fonts Superclarendon (Free) for the numbers and Brooke (purchased here) for the “no.”
Also, if you haven’t replaced your mailbox flag recently, it will cost you about $5-$10 and make a huge difference.
You can certainly opt not to paint your wood post; however, pressure-treated lumber starts to get gray and tired looking after just a few years and I think that painting it makes it look so much better.
This is definitely a small project that makes a big impact, wouldn’t you agree?
Great news: Wagner is giving away a FLEXiO 4300 sprayer (retail value $199.99) to one of our readers!
(GIVEAWAY CLOSED) To enter for a chance to win your own, simply leave a comment below letting us know what you’ll paint first if you win, or you can enter over on Instagram. We’ll randomly select a winner and email them on April 30th. Good luck and thanks for stopping by! (GIVEAWAY CLOSED)
