I painted two door knobs in my house. Before I did it I got expert opinions on the right way to do it. You can read all about the process here.
So the big question I get asked is…
“How have they held up?”
Well it has been 5 years and they have gotten used and abused…opened, shut, twisted and turned. They have held up amazingly well. Here are some pictures of them now.
The only part that has some scratches are the actual closure and strike plate.
You can see from the opening and closing it has gotten scuffed up. But I purposely have not been easy on them because I wanted to give them normal wear and tear. The two knobs were on a 17-year old boy’s room. So of course we have experienced WEAR AND TEAR! The picture below is a brass one I haven’t painted. You can see that area gets worn a bit no matter what. Obviously with the spray paint it is more worn though.
On one of the knobs there is a small scratch. I have no idea what that is from. Overall I think I am ready to paint the rest of the knobs in the house. I think they hold up amazingly well and it is worth the touch up to me in order to save $500 on new knobs and hinges for my whole house.
My advice? Read my tutorial here. Do it exactly the way I outlined for you. But the biggest thing is…do not touch the knobs for one whole week. Paint takes 21 days to get the hardest cure it will get. The longer you can wait to touch them the better they will hold up. You could also spray the knobs with an acrylic sealer to give it another layer of protection. I chose not to because I like the flecks of silver in the paint I used. I heard that adding a sealer tends to change the look of the metallic paints. I think it makes it look “more natural” with no sealer.
Would I do it again? Absolutely! I plan to. Since the strike plate gets so scuffed up there is always the option to purchase those in the finish of your choice. They are only $1.50 each for my brand.
If replacing your knobs is not an option spray painting them is a real option. It is cheap and when done properly will yield great results. Nothing upgrades your house more than getting rid of the brass and upgrading to a new, more modern finish. So there you have it!
I love that you did a follow up! I always wonder how paint makeovers hold up!
They still look great!
Thank you so much for sharing this. I've seen people spray paint knobs before, but I always wondered how they held up to wear and tear. Now, I'm on a mission!
Yay! I am so glad to hear that they held up well. 🙂 Still lookin' good. 😉
I think I may be breaking out the spray paint!
Wow!! So happy to hear how well they've held up. Thanks for doing a follow up!
Thanks a lot! I am thing about doing this now but would not have before.
Thank you for posting the follow up – they look great, as all your work does.
Thanks for following up on this project. I thought about doing this a million times at our previous home that was LITTERED with brass knobs and hinges and fixtures! I couldn't get past the thought of it scratching off and looking worse! Good to know this is a success if I ever move to a brassy house again.
Okay I'm gonna try it if you say so! How on Earth am I going to get my family to not touch the doorknobs for one week though? 🙂 Thanks for the tutorial.
Yep! I'm (slowly) spraying all of my door handles and hinges ORB. It is amazing how that little change can make such a huge difference in the total look of things. Nice post on the follow up.
I wish I had NO BRASS in my house! Great job!
ThIs is AWESOME!
We're buying an old home in Detroit city that needs lots updating… and I keep saying that paint can change just about anything. (I painted our current kitchen floor and it's still looking great 4 1/2 yrs. + 7 people later!)
Your post proves that paint rules!
THanks!
Thanks for the update! I was curious about how they held up.
This fall, this house is getting a wood trim and brass knob/hinge makeover! Thanks for the great tutorial!
(I also have a wingback chair sitting in my house I got for FREE that is awaiting a re-upholstery. I'm going to follow your directions once I get a few free days to give it a try!)
Thanks for posting this! I love the pictures and the update and all the great advice. Now I feel conifdent enough to try this myself. I’ll def do one room at a time so I don’t cut corners. Thanks again.
If I steal the knobs the rooms that aren’t seen from the main living area, I could do two at a time (replacing ones that were taken off with freshly painted ones, and putting the least-used back last – – does that make sense?). I *THINK* living without those knobs for a few weeks would be do-able… but… how did you deal with having those two off for a while? My husband’s uncomfortable going to the bathroom with the door open (even after 10 years!). This should be fun.
hee hee…I actually planned it for a week I knew we were going to be on vacation. That gave us one week under our belt. Then we were just really careful.
Nice job! Though if we were in England, all this talk about “knobs” would be a whole other project.
I was just reading your original post from March, and searched your website to see if you did an update post! So glad you did. I very well might try this. I, too, have the ugly brassiness all over my house. Maybe after the holidays are over I will have to try to do this! 🙂
You’d all rather touch spray paint than metal? The color doesn’t matter to me as much as the FEELING OF METAL.
To each his own. I would rather touch paint than to pay $500 to replace them all…yes