We used an angle grinder to remove old hooks and nails and we also removed a couple of high spots on some of the brick. I looked at Portland cement, thin-set, mortar, concrete, stucco and that is when a friend of mine who did something similar to her fireplace suggested sanded grout. But the products they use in Denmark are so different looking and sounding than what I could match it up to here. So I started researching a 'Danish Schmear'. It would have been an insurmountable task to get that paint off, I think.
Not the regular smooth ones like the ones in our island. But for a hot minute I considered stripping the paint off, but these are those very nubby 1950s brick - see two photos down a close-up of the texture. And someone had already painted over it, so no guilt. So imagine my joy when our new house had a huge fireplace brick wall. I just love the resulting texture that it brings to the brick. I think this technique takes it up a nudge from just paint. Especially seeing how so many people simply paint over brick to get a more modern look for their fireplace. We painted it because it was going to hold the range so cleanability was a factor.įor the longest time I have been itching to try that technique as a DIY. Some people leave the treatment unpainted but probably sealed. And the final picture is after it was painted. The next day he came back and gave it a 'Danish Schmear' - the second picture. Here you can see our island from the 90s right after the mason got done building it. Maybe a Danish Schmear? Yes, let's go with that. And it is not stuccoing because then you can't even tell that there is brick underneath, it's so smooth.