Refinishing Doorknobs/Hinges

18 years ago

Hello,

Has anyone ever tried to change the finish on their current doorknobs, hinges, etc.? I have a mixed bag of hardware and would like to change the finish to an oiled bronze look. Almost all of my hinges are coated with layers of paint. I tried removing the old paint and re-painting the door hinges to a rust color (rustoleum paint) but am not sure it will last and also would like a more mottled (?) affect. The cost of new hardware would be high for over 20 doors. Thank you for your help!

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Comments (6)

Carol_from_ny
18 years ago
Paint on old hardware can be removed by placing the old hardware in a pot of water and taking it to a low boil. This softens the old paint and makes it possible to remove it with some elbow grease, and a plastic scrapper.
Be careful when removing the hardware from the water it will be extremely hot to the touch. I recommend wearing gloves and removing the hardware from the pot with old tongs.
Whatever you use to boil the hardware in or to remove it from the pot I would not use for cooking purposes ever again.
You may very well have to "dip" your hardware back into the pot and reheat it a few times before you get all the old layers of paint off.
I would not use this method for old glass or cermaic knobs as the heat might crack them BUT for metals you should have no problem.
I've used it on door hinges and even some antique window hardware that had been painted over several times.
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kzarina17
18 years ago
I've also stripped all of our hinges and door plates by either using liquid stripper or the boiling technique. I follow up with a nice wire brush to knock out any paint in small areas.

Not sure what your fixtures are made of but VanDykes's carries a polishing agent that darkens brass.

http://www.vandykes.com/

What are your fixtures made of?
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It takes a while for the commercial market to catch up with us DIYer's but they finally did! You can now buy a Rustoleum spray paint in almost any metal finish you desire. Bought some oil-rubbed bronze today and sprayed up some hardware for a friend. Try it yourself! This is the beginning of a major house overhaul, for sure! Be sure to prepare the metal surface well (remove old paint - a razor works well; scuff up the surface with steel wool; rinse and dry well) then prop it up on wooden screwers in the ground or nails on a board. Place items close enough for the over spray to be collected on the next object but far enough apart to be able to manipulate/cover all the surface areas with paint. With focused effort, 12 doors' hinges (and a few draw pulls) were removed, cleaned, and sprayed and left to dry (12 x 3 = 36 hinges). You do not have to spray the screws for the hinges - these can later be touched up with paint dipped in a q-tip and dabbed onto the screw head or not Ã¯Â¿Â½ your choice Ã¯Â¿Â½ hardly noticeable once the doors are hung. We also took the metal vent covers (the ones on the floor), cleaned one up and sprayed as well. The test result was really pretty! About 15 in all would be the final result. Great savings! The vent covers are abt $15/each - no need now to spend $250 on new ones now. And the hinges ~ savings of near $150. And the old hinges fit perfectly into the slot that is cut on the door and frame already. WHAT A TRANSFORMATION AND FOR ONLY THE PRICE OF $7.30 a can!!! Entire project will take ~ 6-7 cans or ~ $45. Hard to argue with a savings of ~$350!!! Opps - forgot to tell you we took a old bathroom light fixture, disassembled it, and did the old paintaroo on it as well. OMGoodness! The finished product was striking! You can spend some bucks on light fixtures too - not this one, though! We figured a additional savings of $125 easy. Sorry - we did not think of before and after photos until after we were done!
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I think you have made perfect choices for both your door color and interior hardware!
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I spray painted hinges on my bathroom cabinets because mobile homes tend to have funky sized hinges and I didn't want to hassle with finding the right sized replacements or filling & drilling holes. To prep for painting, I soaked them in ammonia (or maybe ammonia & water). This step cleaned them and removed a clear coating. After rinsing & drying them off, I primed them with BIN & sprayed them with Krylon metallic spray paint. If I were to do it again, I'd get the Krylon Fusion & skip priming. Spray in light, even strokes, being careful to start and stop each stroke off of the item. Multiple light coats are better than heavy coats. I think I may have sprayed too heavy & my finished result doesn't quite pass for satin nickel, but it was good enough for me. I've heard of others having luck with oil rubbed bronze. Since hinges don't get hard wear like knobs, the paint has a chance of holding up well.
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Thanks to all your responses & suggestions. Replacement hinges are a possibility...I've never done hinges on a door, so I'm not sure I can handle that. Might be easier to paint the parts that show. But I'll think about that. I think I'll get the black hinges & either replace or paint them. As for why I'm replacing the door instead of leaving as is, the door is an eyesore. The entry door is very important, esp for curb appeal. I agree if it were okay, not worth it to upgrade. But it sends a cheap message upon entry to the house, so I'm going to upgrade it to at least something decent and attractive. I have done some research on what might be worth doing to fix up the house for selling it. So I decided to concentrate on the curb appeal, the kitchen, the baths. I'll be doing as much as possible myself, contracting out the things I can't do (like granite countertop....my countertop is chipped & must be replaced, anyway). Then I'm going to concentrate on de-cluttering, painting everything in sight, and cleaning it until it sparkles, as well as staging. I still remember all the musty smelling houses I encountered when house shopping years ago. As a footnote, I decided to go with the big box (Lowe's). The contractor, as it turns out, quoted on the wrong doors. So although that contractor was highly recommended on Angie's List, I think my project is too small for him to bother with (altho I am getting TWO doors...the 2nd one is the one to the garage, which doesn't close properly and is also an eyesore). Thanks for all your suggestions. I'll just go with the matte black hinges and either replace them or paint them.
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slateberry
15 years ago
I used Safer paint stripper and a dental tool on my letter slot. It worked better than anything else I tried. My neighbor suggested boiling to get the last bits of paint off. Well, in my case that was a mistake because the letter slot was made of "pig metal," a cheap kind of iron, and the boiling made it rust like crazy. So, boiling can be good, but try to guess at the underlying metal first. I lost some crispness of detail on my letter slot because of the boiling.
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SaintPFLA
15 years ago
I do the same thing for my old hardware. I also add a small amount of Downey and an even smaller amount (1/2 tsp.) of Tide (any detergent). This helps to loosen the paint while you are slow boiling it.

I then take a soft bristle brush (I have found that wire scratches the patina) and oil to remove any remaining paint residue.

As for changing the color, I think your only option is to spray paint the hardware.

Painting hardware must have been in fashion at some time because majority of the hardware in my home is painted to "look" like brass. Honestly, I don't recommend it as over time it chips and flakes off and looks awful.
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peste
13 years ago
Crock Pot for 8h. I used a bowl within the Crock Pot bowl so I wouldn't get the Crock Pot "contaminated".
Paint came off the hinges fairly easily.
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brickeyee
13 years ago
"Paint on old hardware can be removed by placing the old hardware in a pot of water and taking it to a low boil. "

Just make sure the hardware is not steel (or even worse partly steel and other metals).

It will rust heavily doing this, and if more than one metal is present the corrosion can be pretty bad.
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Refinishing Doorknobs/Hinges

Comments (6)

Carol_from_ny

kzarina17

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