How To Paint Brass Drawer Pulls

How you like them handles?

(Handles, apples. It's nevertheless. Right Matt Damon? What? Yous don't retrieve Matt Damon reads this blog? Of course he doesn't.)

Anyway, I'grand back to share the hardware makeover play-by-play and a ton of pics that we couldn't squeeze into our door-painting mail service on Midweek. So fasten your seat belts. Oh yeah, information technology'southward gonna go crazy. First I have a underground. The hardware on our sliding doors in the living room looked similar this:

Le yikes, right? It's all sorts of bad with the swoopy handle. If you lot wait a lilliputian closer it'south non fifty-fifty shiny and new looking gilt, information technology's all rusted and neglected…

And then as yous can probably tell from the photo in a higher place (duh) down they came. We stripped the hardware off of both of the sliding doors in near v minutes (I took one side while John got the other 1) past just unscrewing things on the front, back, and side to free them with a regular old philips caput screwdriver…

… and then we removed the doorknob and the rusty erstwhile door knocker on the front end door (also with a screwdriver – there were exposed screws that we just removed from the dorsum).

You can bank check out our door-painting postal service for more than details on that stuff (like how we sanded the pigment around the hardware that we removed so it was nice and smoothen before painting).

Just back to our pile o' removed hardware. Here nosotros have the sliding door hardware forth with the doorknob, deadbolt, and the door knocker from the front door:

It was similar a Gold Hardware "Where Are They At present?" Special on VH1. Some folks weren't as crusty every bit others, simply they were all well past their prime number.

And so later some decent amount of online research and chatting upwardly the paint pros at Lowe's (there'south a woman at the one virtually u.s. who is phenomenally knowledgeable) we learned that the most recommended method for refinishing hardware (to gain the most durability and long-lasting stop) was:

Sand as much of the hardware as you can with loftier grit (200+) sandpaper to rough it up
Use a liquid deglosser (like this 1) to degloss everything to get oils and sanded particles off of the hardware before spraying
Apply one thin and even coat of high quality spray primer meant for metal (nosotros grabbed Rustoleum Painter's Touch Ultra Coverage Primer in gray since we figured it would alloy more than white)
Utilize two to three thin and even coats of high quality spray paint meant for metal in your colour of choice (of course, our toxicant was: Rustoleum Universal Metallic All-Surface Spray Pigment in Oil-Rubbed Bronze)

Then I grabbed my high grit sandpaper and started on the first pace: sanding.

Ahhhhhhhhh. Baaaad thought. The sandpaper left tons of obvious scratches in the gold finish that I knew wouldn't completely exist covered past thin coats of primer and spray pigment. I should have taken a motion-picture show of the one side of the doorknob that I thought I ruined with the dumb sanding footstep merely I was too busy freaking out. And so naturally I fabricated some sort of audio that resembled a walrus screaming and chucked the sandpaper as far abroad as possible while cradling/apologizing to my doorknob and promising him that I'd never hurt him like that again. Luckily I realized the knob would be installed with that part underneath, and then simply Clara-height children may be able to encounter the slightly roughed up texture on the underside. Whew.

Update: A few smarter-than-me commenters recommended trying steel wool or super high grit automotive sandpaper to rough upwards the surface, so I programme to endeavour that next time. Just tossing that out there for anyone who might be doing this (who may want actress "insurance" that the spray volition hold).

So it was out the window with pace i, and on to step two: deglossing. I just used some prophylactic gloves and a rag to utilise the deglosser and and so let everything dry out a trivial so it wasn't soaking wet before moving onto pace three: applying one thin coat of spray primer. But when I went to grab the primer I noticed something intriguing on the ORB can next to it. It said "paint & primer in one" right on the label. Duh. No need to beat out a dead horse.

So I trusted my honey ORB spray primer + pigment to lead the way and just applied three sparse and even coats to all of my hardware (that I strategically placed on paper-thin so I could admission all of the exposed parts by piercing the long metal interior hardware rods through the paper-thin and so they stood up). I will now echo that sparse and even is the key when it comes to spray paint. If yous apply thin & even coats they won't be globby and thick, and they'll bond/cure very strongly, which will greatly reduce any issues with things flaking, scratching, or peeling down the line.

Oh and meet that cardinal? That's a secret.

I decided I didn't want to muck up the inside of my lock with spray pigment, so I used a spare business firm key to block the spray from getting into the lock (while allowing me to access the balance of the knob). I didn't push the central all the fashion in for fear that the top of the central would block some of the outside of the doorknob, so I just stuck it halfway in so it would block the interior part without inhibiting admission to the metal facade around it. Then I just removed it and used it on the deadbolt's keyhole when I sprayed that.

Oh and another spraying tip would be to put all of your screws into the hardware and pierce them through the cardboard so the ends of them get sprayed to friction match (like the 2 that you see below). Also, exist certain to move things like latches back and forth betwixt coats to make sure y'all tin can access all areas of the hardware with spray paint. Like this…

… and this:

About an hr later (I probably waited xx minutes betwixt each of my three thin and fifty-fifty coats, only to be certain it was prissy and cured before piling more on) I was left with these beauties:

Who sees a winking face? Just me?

I probably waited half dozen total hours subsequently my last coat of spray paint earlier reinstalling anything. Just to give them a lot of fourth dimension to fully cure and ensure that I wouldn't scratch or ding something while putting them dorsum on the doors. I can't speak to the long-term durability of this process since it has only been… oh, about 48 hours. But I tin can tell you that reinstalling them went actually smoothly and everything works just likewise every bit it used to and nothing was even remotely marred or dinged during installation or in the past two days since.

And then I guess we'll check back in with an update near how they hold upward over the long haul (these doors are used every single day thanks to a dog who loves going in and out). But then far, and so good. And it definitely beats buying all new hardware (nosotros figured nosotros didn't have anything to lose in trying to make the one-time stuff work before resorting to trashing it and splurging for all new hardware).

Oh and it bares noting that things expect pretty black in some of these pics, but it's just considering ORB is a mystical beast. And so information technology's difficult to capture the true color that you see in existent life (which is a rich metallic-y chocolate). Actually, the exterior sprayed shots above testify the true color really well. It nonetheless looks like that inside, it'south just seemingly incommunicable to become it on film.

Perhaps the most exciting affair is that in taking this fashion quiz, the affair that I loved most about the room they said was "my way" was the white door with the dark hardware. And now information technology'due south mine. All mine. Mwahahaha. (<– yup, I bankrupt out my maniacal laugh)

I think information technology looks delish with the oil-rubbed bronze drapery rods and the night beams. And John digs it likewise (delish just isn't an describing word he's apt to use).

Me-ow old sliding door friend. My how y'all've matured. Well, every bit much as a twisty twirly erstwhile 80's knob tin really mature.

And you lot've already seen our freshly sprayed front door hardware, simply let'south just revisit it for a moment:

So yep. We're happy with our lilliputian almost-foiled-past-the-sandpaper procedure. Although I must acknowledge that after I sprayed the underside of the knob, the scratches were inappreciably noticeable. So maybe if you're a staunch rule follower (and non a freaked out walrus impersonator similar me) you could get away with the sanding stride. Either style, I have high hopes that the deglosser and included-primer will exercise their job when it comes to adhesion (peculiarly since our former scratched and rusted fixtures weren't too glossy or shiny to begin with).

As for the ORB finish: Hi my name is Sherry, and I'thou fond to oil-rubbed bronze. They say you can't assist who you love. But it could be worse. I could be addicted to sanding things, which would have been a cruel joke since sandpaper was the kryptonite of this projection. I wonder why. Has anyone else successfully sanded their metal hardware before spraying information technology? Was information technology not all scratched up? Maybe it simply looked "brushed" in the terminate? I but didn't trust myself to do it all in i consistent direction (aka: non make a hot mess that was oh so obvious after the spray-chore). So in summary, my method was just to: employ a liquid deglosser (although I'll also try steel wool or actress high grit sandpaper next time), lay everything out on paper-thin standing up so it could be sprayed evenly from all angles, use a half-inserted fundamental to block any keyholes, spray everything thinly and evenly in 3 coats practical every 20 mins or then, be certain to move toggles and locks and so all parts of the hardware were sprayed, and allow it cure for nigh half dozen hours before rehanging information technology.

Oh and the total cost of this project was $6 for the spray paint (I was able to return the unopened can of primer and I already had the deglosser and that dastardly sandpaper on mitt). But for someone who needs to purchase deglosser, you might want to budget four more dollars for that. Considering a new knob, deadbolt, knocker, and two locks and iv handles for our sliding doors would probably come to well-nigh $200, I call up nosotros got ane heckova deal. So I'll allow yous know how they concord upwardly. If they're anything similar our ORBed sofa legs (which we sprayed five months ago, and they still expect mint) we'll accept bona fide jazz easily going on. So it'south probably merely a matter of time earlier I really become basics and remove every last interior contumely door and hinge and become to boondocks. Like I said, my name is Sherry, and I'm addicted to oil-rubbed bronze. Holla.

Update: Our handles are nonetheless holding steady. Check out the update post here.

Wanna know where nosotros got something in our house or what pigment colors we used? Merely click on this push: