How to paint a textured brick fireplace

Tyler asks,

My house is in Evansville Indiana and was built in 1908. I want to paint our brick fireplace white. I know painting means it will be permanent which is fine with me. However, I saw that there are white brick stains and wanted to know if a white stain would be better than regular paint?

Also if paint is the better option. what type of paint and sheen should I use for this? I planned on using a paint sprayer for this since we’re redoing the whole room so I’m not worried about over spray. I planned on cleaning it with a TSP solution before I paint/stain it. If I painted I was going to prime with a gray primer. Thanks for your help!

Our Answer

Hey Tyler, While brick stains are available, I wouldn’t recommend that approach for a fireplace. The biggest difference between a stain and a paint is the finish and how easy it’d be to clean. With stain, the brick will remain pretty much like it is now, very porous, which means it’ll be near impossible if you had to remove any smoke stains, like I see in your photo above the fire box.
That’s why paint is definitely the way to go. You should be able to use any good quality interior paint.
Here’s a really good video tutorial on how to paint a brick fireplace provided by Sherwin Williams that can help!