For Part 1 of DIY click HERE.  I started my wall sconce project by cleaning all of the spider webs, dust and dirt off my bargain eBay find with a clean rag and steel wool.  I then cut the wires that were attached since I knew I wanted to use candles instead of having them electrified.  I wasn’t sure I wanted the permanence of having to decorate around them in the library (which is where I wanted them to hang).

This is the before picture. If the sconces hadn't been paint splattered by the previous owner, I may have kept the brass look, it was old and well worn and I like that look.

I purchased some plastic sleeves that go around the bulb outlet sleeve, which is cardboard.  I cute the sleeves to fit but not extend much past the outlet opening.  I then began by painting a very light coat of satin finish black paint.  I kept the black coat very light, you could still see the brass through the first layer of spray paint.  After that dried thoroughly I spray painted a second coat, this time using the oil rubbed bronze spray paint.  I continued to alternate the 2 spray paints until I had the finish I wanted.  Once the sconces were thoroughly dry I applied (with a soft rag) some Behr water base stain in Norwegian teak.  This was recommended by someone who had refinished a chandelier for me years ago.  (I really wish I had tackled this project myself but as you will read in part 1, I was hiring someone to do a lot of projects that I realize I could have easily done on my own.

Here are the paints I used. The bronze was a little lighter than I would have liked so I used satin black as well as the ORB.

In any event, here is the finished project.  What do you think?  I really am happy with the way they turned out and it has given me confidence to try some more DIY projects.  Any suggestions?

I most probably won't light the candles but the sconce adds a little to the wall they are on.

This is the ta-da picture for the first of what I hope will be a lot more productive weekend projects.

Madison approves!