Painting my electrical panel chrome

My electrical panel cover had at least 2 coats of different colors from previous paint jobs in the house. Much  of it was uneven, and not smooth, because of the paint running. 

So there is some white paint, and some peach paint on the electrical panel cover, no good. 

Instead of trying to paint it the same color as the wall to try to hide it, I thought why not just make it stand out, sort of like a piece of art on the wall. What better way than to make it chrome!

I began the long and difficult task of removing all of the paint on the cover down to the bare metal, so that everything would even out. 

The drill got very hot during this process, since I leave my "real" drill at work, and had to resort to using an ancient drill with metal casing. This required me to stop several times during the process of removing all of the paint. 

It was important however to ensure that all of the paint was removed, so that I had a nice smooth surface for the final product.

As you see, not only was there white paint and peach paint on the cover, but there was also some blue paint from the last time that the walls were painted. 

The cover looks great with the paint all removed, and If I was not so concerned with leaving bare metal on my electrical panel, I might have opted for just leaving it like this.

The only thing left untouched is the original sticker on the inside of the door. 

On to the outside, where I sprayed a few coats of gray primer on the bare metal. This ensures that the paint will adhere to the surface, and in choosing the grey primer over other colors ensures a close enough base color to the chrome for the best results for the final product. 

Several coats of the chrome paint, and you can see my reflection in the cover. 

This is a project that I had wanted to do for at least a year, but never had the time to get around to it. Who knew that something as simple as removing the paint from an electric panel cover, and then respraying it would be such a difficult task? 

Finally it has been mounted on my wall. The only defects in the paint are from where I prematurely touched it before the paint fully dried. 

The photographs taken inside of my home do not do justice to the quality of the final product, which is as close to a chrome finish that I could have ever expected without sending it in to get chrome plated. The photo with the spray can makes the finish appear to be more silver than chrome, and not very reflective, but take a look at the image just above that, where you can see the reflection of my front door in the cover.