Door Knob Makeover

Recently, a friend of mine was contemplating purchasing new cabinet knobs for his kitchen, to replace the gold, brassy, builder-grade ones. But, because of the amount that he needed, he was looking at dropping over $60 on it. And that's where I stepped in. Why spend $60 when you can buy a can of spray paint for $4?

So, he brought them all over and I set to work. I soaked them in Liquid Deglosser, which I already had, and wiped them all down. The bottle says to let them dry for 30 minutes, but I let them sit overnight.

I got an old styrofoam cooler and some toothpicks, and I set up my work area.

Clever, huh? The toothpicks really helped me get to all the angles. A few coats of Krylon Silver Nickel paint...

...and a few more coats of Valspar Clear Gloss and they were good as new. Check out his kitchen sporting the new look:

So, that little project got me inspired to finally tackle all the brassy, golden doorknobs throughout the interior of my house.

I'd been meaning to do this project for awhile, after falling in love with these guys on Pinterest. 

Originally seen here

Originally seen here

 I love white doors with oil rubbed broze fixtures. I think they're simply stunning, and they bring back fond memories of spending summers in my grandma's house - her house was full of original, early 1900's doors and knobs. (It still is, as a matter of fact.)

So I got those bad boys off...

 
and did the same process with the Liquid Deglosser that I did with the cabinet knobs. For this project though, I stuck the doorknobs through the styrofoam for easier spray painting. 
 

Into the garage they went, where they got 3 or 4 coats of my favorite ORB spray (which is also the same one I used on the storm door.)

I finished them off with a top coat of Valspar Clear Satin. My best piece of advice for a project like this? Be patient. I let each coat dry, sit and cure for at least 4 hours before putting anymore on there. I usually don't need to do that, but doorknobs get so much wear and tear, and are touched so much that I really wanted the paint to set. So yes, this project took between 4 and 5 days to finish...

 

...but well worth it. Originally, I didn't take the innards of the doorknobs off to paint. But, after looking back at my inspiration pictures, I decided I needed too. But first, I tried to just tape them off and use a cardboard backing to spray them in the house. 

It worked okay, but the lines weren't as clean as I wanted. So, I bit the bullet and took them out, stuck them through the styrofoam, and sprayed them as well. 

Every time I look down the front hallway, or go to get something out of the kitchen pantry...

...I smile at the sight of the new ORB finishes everywhere. I still have more to do in the future - I didn't do any of the exterior doors or any of the upstairs doors - but I figure it will give me a chance to see how these last with the wear and tear of everyday use. So far, so good!