Penny wise, pound foolish....

[smiles33]

So I thought I'd save money and spray paint my ugly white outdoor light fixtures. We have 8 (1 on porch, the rest by garage and back yard doors). The first three turned out fantastic (I love the oil-rubbed bronze look).

I failed to realize there was a motion sensor plate on the porch light and now it wont work. Argh! After all that work, I think i have to go buy a new porch light now.

[DebbieJ]

Oh shucks!

Can't you just scrape the paint off the motion detector part?

[hellokitty]

Oh no! I'd try to scrape off the paint on top of the motion sensor too. Worse comes to worse, you can buy a motion sensor. We added one to our lamp post in our front yard. I don't know if that would work for you or not, but it is an option if you can find one that works for you.

[smiles33]

It's spray paint so it isn't scraping well because I was so careful and did two light coats. The other problem is that we never figured out how to turn off the motion sensor so it would just always stay on. If I could figure that out, then I wouldn't care about the motion sensor part. Argh! Kicking myself now for not just leaving it alone.

[niccig]

Originally Posted by hellokitty

Oh no! I'd try to scrape off the paint on top of the motion sensor too. Worse comes to worse, you can buy a motion sensor. We added one to our lamp post in our front yard. I don't know if that would work for you or not, but it is an option if you can find one that works for you.

Wait..you can add a motion sensor to an existing light...we so need this. Please tell me more.

[khm]

Fingernail polish remover? It might damage the plastic sensor part though. But, if it is otherwise trashed.... worth a shot.

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by niccig

Wait..you can add a motion sensor to an existing light...we so need this. Please tell me more.

DH said he got it at lowe's, but I can't find the exact item. It is something like, this...

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?...llow&cId=PDIO1

but ours doesn't have the extra electrical outlet, just the light sensor. It added about 4 inches to our existing post.

ETA: It looks like there are some other options or replacements...

http://www.lowes.com/SearchCatalogDi...ogId=10051&N=0

[jal]

Originally Posted by smiles33

It's spray paint so it isn't scraping well because I was so careful and did two light coats. The other problem is that we never figured out how to turn off the motion sensor so it would just always stay on. If I could figure that out, then I wouldn't care about the motion sensor part. Argh! Kicking myself now for not just leaving it alone.

If you you don't care about the sensor, you should be able to rewire the lights to simply bypass the sensor. It might be as simple as removing two black wires connected to the sensor and connecting them together with a water-proof wire nut. If the sensor can be removed and if you can get access to the wires leading to the sensor, it should be a simple "operation" to someone familier with electricity.

HOWEVER, I would warn you against trying it yourself if you are not familier with working with electrical wiring. It's something that is not very difficult to understand. But if you don't understand, you can easily do something that "works", but create a hazzard (to property and LIFE!!!).

[Penny's Pappa]

I'd head to Lowes/Home Depot and see what they'd recommend to remove spray paint. I imagine something like acetone or toluene would remove it. Otherwise a chemical paint stripper would probably do the job as well. Heck, it might be as simple as taking a little bit of sandpaper to it and sanding the paint off.

[smiles33]

Thanks all. My local hardware shop said removing the pray paint isn't worth it as the plastic might not survive that process. They suggested re-wiring it, too. I have wired porch lights before, but I ran out of time yesterday so I'll attempt it later this week or next weekend.