Yuck!
At the end of a renovation, it’s natural to experience a bit of a burnout – not only physical, but financial as well. Tired of living in a mess, tired of the dust, and so tired of spending money! For me, one of the last projects to tackle in my home was my ugly, ugly doorknobs. They were goldy/brassy/tacky and I hated them. And a previous owner didn’t remove them when the doors were painted – duh… So not only were they hideous, but they were hideous with splotches of white paint all over them. But the idea of having to replace each and every one of them? Well, the math just depressed me. I had 10 knobs to replace for the interior doors (for a small house, it sure has a lot of doors!). And at about $20 for each (and that’s cheap – just a plain door knob – nothin’ fancy or high-end), well, that would have been at least $200 – just for knobs! Yikes, I say. So I went searching online, and sure enough, folks in my situation have fixed the problem themselves. So I decided, why not? A little bit of sweat equity, some sandpaper, spray primer and paint, and for less than $15 in total, “new” knobs!
The first thing I did was remove them from the doors – everything was removed – the knobs, the plates, the screws. And then sanding, a very important step. I used the medium grit flexible sanding pads, the ones with the sandpaper attached to a piece of a sponge – these worked really well because they allowed me to cup my hand around the knob and get into all of the little crevices. It doesn’t take long and it’s really easy – just make sure all the shine is removed – this is really important. And make sure you clean them really well after sanding! You don’t want the metal dust sticking to any of the parts when you start spraying them with the primer.
Once this is done, then you can spray them with one coat of primer. Oh, and don’t forget to use painters tape to hide the part that pushes in when you close the door (sorry – I don’t know what that thing is called!). The primer I used is Rustoleum Painter’s Touch, but any primer will do as long as it says that it’s suitable for metal. I needed to prop up all of the parts of the knobs somehow, so I just made holes in the bottom of a box and turned it upside down and stuck everything in. Worked like a charm! And don’t forget all of the parts – you don’t want gold-looking screws standing out.
After sanding everything and priming (go easy… you don’t want drips), the next step was the spray paint. There were some really nice choices at the store – I chose Krylon Brushed Metallic Satin Nickle. Two coats were required to get the coverage I wanted. After waiting for them to dry real well, I used one coat of Krylon Acrylic Crystal Clear in Gloss, just to add a bit more shine.
After waiting the appropriate amount of time, and that was left to do was to put them back on doors. And ta-da! “New” doorknobs! They look great! I don’t know how long they will last and I don’t know if the paint will start chipping off after using them for a while, but even if they last a year or so, I’m thrilled. And so is my wallet! If you find yourself in the same situation, give it a try! I’d love to hear from you to know how it turned out. ♥
Yay!
Great post, Rachel! This is a perfect tutorial and would make a daunting job much less so:)
Yes, it really was an easy project! And I love the results…
I can’t wait to try this on my door knobs! Thanks for the helpful tips & complete instructions.
I need to do this!
Go for it, Erin! And let me know how it turns out!
Ok, gave this a try on the door to the mudroom just in case I screwed it up. I skipped an important part and that was making the holder for the knobs. I found myself wanting to prop them up on something with one hand because I had a just sprayed knob in the other hand. When I tackled the other door knobs I’ll surely use your box idea.
Thanks!
Love this! I just did something similar with hardware for a dresser… such an easy, cheap update.
that’s a great idea! I never thought to spray paint them! We just slowly switched ours out over a period of time. Makes me wonder if “someday” people will switch them all BACK to brassy knobs, lol! thanks for linking up to Wicked Awesome wed!
I found you at Centsational Girl. Your update is a great one. I’m sure I’ll be using your tips.
I love this!! Mine are all the brass too and I want to try it. Have you had any chipping yet? We have the exact same doors too!!
Thanks for sharing
Miriam recently posted the following…Craigslist transformation
Hi Miriam!
Nope, no chipping yet, thank goodness! But it really hasn’t been that long – the jury is still out. I hope they last a long, long time!
It looks great! I did mine with the same technique last year and sadly, they have not held up well at all. I used Rustoleum spray paint, so hopefully you will have more luck than me! My husand says Rustoleum is the worst!
Oh, that’s too bad, Jodi! I hope mine last… Are you going to do them over again, or buy new knobs?
Love this– I’m going to do this in my new home! Thank you!
Thanks for posting the info. We had worn gold doorknobs, I looked at replacing them but it quickly became apparent that was NOT an affordable option. Following your hints I sanded and then sprayed with Rust-oleum Universal primer/paint “oil rubbed bronze” and then a glossy clear coat. Initially there was a slight learning curve but following your pictures and with a little trial and error I got the hang of it. I also painted all the strike plates (?), not sure if that is the correct term. All of the knobs look GREAT and go well with the new interior paint colors. Even if they only hold up a year I’ll be happy!
I used the hammered bronze spray paint and they look great!
Lena, that’s fantastic!
Just found your blog. Very nice! I am trying to drum up the courage to paint my doorknobs. I was wondering since it has been about a year since your post, how well they are holding up?
Hi Pat,
The doorknobs are holding up quite well! There’s only one that has a bit of a mark on it – I must have scraped it somehow. But considering how many I did, and how little it cost me, I’d say that it was well worth the effort!
I did this with the hinges on my bathroom vanity. Bought new knobs, but the hinges were expensive and I was trying to cut costs. I figured they really wouldn’t show that much and I was very happy with the results! Did the box idea as well…it works super well!