How To Paint a Door Knob or Any Metal Hardware to Last

Reviving Pine Drive

You can find the video tutorial at https://youtu.be/L6qPB_GZ3-I

A big change I wanted to make around the house was turning the tarnished and outdated bronze and chrome fixtures flat black.

I would have loved to replace everything, but that wasn't in the budget, with new door knobs starting around $10 a piece, new hinges at $3 a piece and bathroom fixtures even more, that adds up quickly through a whole home. So what to do, paint them!

I decided to paint them with Rust-Oleum spray paints. I certainly could have painted them with my beloved Annie Sloan, but I wanted a more "shell" like finish. I love how they turned out and so far, they have held up great. Will they last for 20 years, probably not, but do I care at that point...no.

I painted every part of the door knob, hinges, strike plate, towel bar, toilet paper holder, etc. but I will show you how I did this on a door knob.

First, you will need to take your knob off the door. Mine came off with a few screws. Next, I scrubbed it with dish soap and hot water, rinsing clean.

To set up my paint station, I poked some holes through plastic containers. This allowed me to hold onto the knob and twist it, while I painted it, and let it sit upright to dry. I stuck the screws into a cardboard box for the same reason.

After everything was fully dried, I sprayed the first layer with Rust-Oleum bonding primer. This is better then regular primer because it is suppose to stick to surfaces that traditionally are hard for paint to stick to. When spraying paint, try to do sweeping motions and not to go too close to the surface. More thin layers is better then one thick layer.

After the primer is fully dry, I like to wait overnight, I moved on to the paint. I used Rust-Oleum flat paint & primer in black. You will most likely need to do 2 coats of this. I let each coat dry overnight. It may be a bit long, but remember, this is something you will handle everyday and it isn't chalk paint. You need this paint to cure from the inside out before you spray another sealing layer on top of it.

For one more added layer of protection, after the paint is fully dry, it is time to topcoat. Spray everything with a layer of Rust-Oluem clear durable topcoat in dead flat. Of course, you can choose a different topcoat sheen or any other paint color to suit your decor. But I don't like shinny, so flat & dead flat has my heart.

As in the rest of this process, let it dry good. Then reinstall, being cautious not to scrape the new paint surface with a drill bit.

Done! I painted the door and added trim to, which will come in a future tutorial.

You can find all these products on my Amazon store under the Painting Supplies List.

Here is the cost breakdown for each one:

Rust-Oleum Stops Rust Universal Bonding Primer: I bought for $6.28 at Lowes. (I have had a hard time consistently finding this for the same price. Sometimes it costs me $6.28, sometimes $15 depending on where I buy it from and what sellers are available on Amazon at the moment. It seems to change monthly for this stuff. Either way, it is worth it, don't skip this step!)

Rust-Oleum Universal All Surface Spray Paint, Flat Black: $6.97 from Amazon (One of the best prices around for this)

Rust-Oleum Universal All Surface Spray Paint, Clear Dead Flat: $6.98 from Amazon (One of the best prices for this too)

That equals roughly $21 for new knobs. I would estimate that you would be able to finish 6 knobs out of this much paint, but everyone's painting hand is different. $3.50 per knob is a deal for a big impact in my mind!