My home was built in 2001. And thus, everything in it was either adorned in oak or brassy brass. I really like the brushed nickel look, but replacing all my knobs and fixtures just wasn't in the budget.
I was sick of it. Sick of it I tell you! I had seen a couple of tutorials on spraypainting your doorknobs and fixtures, and figured I would try whilst redoing my kitchen.
It's actually very easy to go from this:
To this:
I'll share with you some techniques and some pros and cons of the project.
First, take out your knobs and plates, etc. I was working on my pass through doorknobs on the pantry and my back deadbolt and security doorknobs. (See me in the reflection? I'm not wearing any pants. Just kidding)
Mine looked like this when I was done sanding. Then I stuck the knobs and screws into/on a box that I could easily move around. I took them out into my front yard and started spraying with Rust-Oleum's Clean Metal Primer.
The primer is whitish, and I did 2 coats.
Then I used Krylon's Brushed Metallic Satin Nickel spray paint for the final finish. I did 2 coats.
I love this faux finish. It's a little bit sparkly and has a great modern look to it.
Now, having said that, I'm not sure I'll do the entire house worth of knobs, being that in high traffic areas, these get scratched up pretty quickly. This little scratch happened literally 2 days after the knob had been installed. I love the look, but I'm not sure its practical for knobs that are used often. Or maybe we're just too rough, not sure.
In all of the tutorials I read and watched, none said anything about adding a protective coat over the finished product, but they did warn against possible flaking and/or scratching in highly used areas. This is probably a technique better suited for light fixtures, knobs that are never used, and hardware on doors and cabinets.
I will definitely keep these in my kitchen for now, and possibly touch them up as I need to. Eventually I may just end up swapping them out for the real thing, but those are expensive, upwards of $17-20 a set! This was a quick cheap project and I have plenty of supplies left to do other knobs if I feel up to it later.
8 comments:
Looks great! I'd take that over brass any day, teeny scratch and all.
That is an ambition project, they look great!
You are really good at working and polishing knobs
They look great. I bet you can't even see the scratch unless you are looking up close.
If you have a Costco membership, they occasionally have these pretty cheap (in brushed nickel or satin or whatever they cal it.) Also, clearance at Target is another good place to check them out. I replaced most of our light switch covers a few years ago with nice looking ones that were all less than $1 from Target. :)
wow! the things you can do with spray paint. :-) i am going to have to take a look at my own home and see what i can spruce up.
I like!
Just remember, if you paint the knobs, don't forget the door hinges! I replaced my bathroom knob with new oil rubbed bronze. I had brass hinges. Back to the store for new hinges! Really looks pulled together.
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