Spray Painted Hardware–What Works? What Doesn’t?

Okay, people. Here it is … a follow up to the 'Refurbishing Hardware' blog post, where I spray painted every shred of brass in my house using Rust-Oleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint. Y’all have asked. I have listened … and put off this post simply because it’s a tedious one. However, by far the most frequently asked question(s) is/are: “So … how are the door knobs holding up?” or “So, how’s the shower holding up?”

So.

Here is my detailed response. I have not touched up any of these pictures. There are tricks to saving tons of $$$$ spray painting your door knobs, locks, latches, bathroom fixtures, light fixtures, etc. However, there are things that you DO NOT want to spray paint and it’s better to spend just a little money to replace those with the real thing.

Okay.

Here we go.



First of all … the one thing we noticed very quickly was that the catch/latch on all of our doors quickly looked like this, after opening/shutting the doors a few times:



See that little brass strip? Yeah. Not a huge deal. In my opinion, it’s still way better than the whole thing being brass. HOWEVER. There is a very simple and inexpensive fix for this.

Behold:



Home Depot sells packages of JUST the door latches!!!!! They come in packs of 2 … and I think they were $2.48. Do yourself a favor. Buy one for every door latch. At around a dollar each, I promise, it is money well spent.

See?



Bam. No more annoying strip of brass. Easy Peasy.

Next, all but two of my bedroom/bathroom/closet doors look like this (still, 18 months later):



Still in 100% perfect condition … these door knobs (to inside doors) are absolutely worth spray painting. They hold up well. Zero problems. No complaints. (Saves you around $15-$20 per door knob)

However … the powder bathroom door knob (which gets used about 25x more than the average home’s powder bathroom door knob because I have a preschool in my house) looks like this (Ignore my dirty door … I’m doing you a favor here):



See that little bit of paint wearing off around the lock? Does it bother you? If so … buy a replacement. If you’re like me, this totally doesn’t bother you … because it just looks like it was antiqued. I’m not crazy. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen the ‘real deal’ and lots of those door knobs look slightly antiqued.

Moving on.

Here is my bathroom, today … 18 months after the renovation (thanks for making me clean it!) :



Boom. Still looks the same today as it did 18 months ago.



Was spray painting the cabinets worth it? Absolutely.



Did the sink/bath tub faucet handles hold up? Sure did.



Was all that tedious work of painting the shower trim worth it? AITCH YES, people!!! Best two week project we’ve ever done!!



Are there areas that don’t hold up? Um. Yes. But, pretty much only the shower door handle where it catches when it gets opened and closed. (Please note: just as before, the spray painted shower door handle holds onto soap scum just like it would if it wasn’t spray painted!! BONUS.)



Do I care about that? NOPE. Why? Because you can’t see it when the shower door is closed!! Winning, people!!!

**However, Superman told me that you can buy one of these door handles at Home Depot, in oil rubbed bronze finish, for cheap. Maybe someday I’ll decide it’s worth a few bucks. Who knows?

Okay.

Just keep swimming.

Remember the light fixture out front? This one:



Well. It still looks just like that. Here. Look:



Okay. There’s some dust on it. And a few water spots on the glass. Sue me, people.

This chandelier:



Still looks the same … it just houses a little more dust than it did back then. ;) (I’m too lazy to take a new picture)

How about the light switch plates?

Bam:



Outlet covers?

Boom:



And now, my friends … here is what you will want to spend money actually replacing ………

Front Door Hardware (Please over look the fact that I desperately need to paint my front door/trim. K, thanks.) :



Um. Yeah. With the heavy use (and need for a key), I recommend just spending the money on this one. I found an oil rubbed bronze finished front door hardware set at Home Depot that I liked for only $93. But. It’s still $93. And, my scratched door still works … so … I’m not running out to buy one just yet.



Because …. at the end of the day, I rarely notice anyone else’s front door handles when I go visit them. And if I did notice … I wouldn’t care two seconds if it was a little scraped. And I know y’all love me enough to not care either. Right? ;)



The inside looks the same … except … I have since replaced the little door catch/latch thing. If I cared enough, I might even just touch up the scuffs. But I don’t care, people. Sorry. I just don’t.

And, lastly, the other thing you’ll want to just replace, is the back door hardware:



Especially if your back door is like mine and you have blinds that clank against the door knob every time someone goes in or out. I found a back door hardware package in the right finish for only $53. But. Again. I’m not a big spender. So ….. I’ll wait on it. Because: I just. don’t. care. (I did, however, also replace the little door catch/latch on this one too … because it was a buck. Sometimes I go crazy. ;)

So. Moral of the story?

Don’t paint these:



Just replace them with these:



But, do paint the entire rest of the door knob/hardware set.
DO paint your shower trim, faucet handles, cabinets, light fixtures, outdoor light fixtures, chandeliers, light switch plates, outlet covers … yadda yadda. For added emphasis, I’ll say it again … There are only 3 things I wouldn’t recommend painting (because they don’t look 100% a couple months down the road) and those are: front door, back door, all door latches.

There.

I’m done.

I said my peace.

So glad I got all of that off my chest.

Now, go spray paint something, y’all!!