You down with ORB? Yeah you know me.
At long last, the job is done. After nearly two years of planning and procrastination, we finally replaced every old brass doorknob in the house with oil-rubbed bronze (ORB) finishes. It was one of those small upgrades that felt huge once completed—suddenly the whole home feels more cohesive and a lot less dated.
We removed and refinished 19 knobs in total. Earlier, we tested this process on a few exterior knobs, handles, and a door knocker to make sure the finish would hold up outdoors, and the results were encouraging. Those exterior pieces still look great after a year and a half of exposure, so we felt confident moving forward with all the interior knobs.
Here’s the step-by-step process we used to refinish our doorknobs to an oil-rubbed bronze look, including tips to avoid common pitfalls.
- Remove the knobs: We took off all 18 interior knobs using a screwdriver. We kept each set paired together so reinstallation was straightforward and nothing got mixed up.
- Prep the surface: Using very fine sandpaper (400 grit), we lightly scuffed every knob to give the paint something to adhere to. Don’t worry about faint scratches—they’ll be covered by paint. Avoid coarse sandpaper, which can leave visible gouges.
- Clean and degloss: After sanding, we wiped each knob with a liquid deglosser to remove oils and dust. Then we arranged the knobs upright on a piece of cardboard so all finishes could be sprayed evenly.
- Choose the right spray paint: We used Universal All-Surface Spray Paint in an oil-rubbed bronze finish. This product has primer built in and bonds well to metal, which saved us an extra step. If you pick a different brand, consider using a separate primer first.
- Apply thin coats: Spray in light, even mists from multiple angles. To avoid runs, do several thin coats with about ten minutes of drying time between each. We did five light coats, keeping the can moving to prevent drips and ensuring every exposed surface received coverage.
- Dry and cure: We let the knobs dry for a full 48 hours before reinstalling them. After about 12 hours outdoors on a mild day, we moved them inside to a sunroom to continue curing; colder nighttime temperatures can interfere with the finish.
Time breakdown: removing all knobs took roughly 30 minutes, sanding and deglossing about two hours total, and spray painting around an hour (spread across multiple coats). Reinstallation took about 30 minutes after the 48-hour cure period. In active hands-on time, the project was about three and a half hours plus drying time.
Cost-wise, we used less than one can of spray paint (it was an already-open leftover can), which made this far cheaper than buying brand-new oil-rubbed bronze knobs. For reference, purchasing matching ORB knobs from a big-box store would have been considerably more expensive. Our verdict: totally worth it. It’s surprising how manageable the job was once we stopped overthinking it.
An installation tip: protect the new finish during reassembly by applying painter’s tape where screws or hardware might rub the surface. Remove the tape after installation to reveal an unmarked finish.
Hinges and strike plates: Many of our hinges had already darkened with age or were painted over, so they blended with the darker knobs. If your hinges are bright brass and clash with ORB knobs, swapping them is inexpensive. We opted not to spray-paint hinges because the friction and wear could cause the paint to rub off over time.
For strike plates, a few had naturally darkened while others remained bright brass. Instead of painting the ones that were still shiny, we replaced four strike plates with new, darker ones. They’re inexpensive and hold up better where metal repeatedly contacts metal.
In short: what began as a long-postponed chore turned into a satisfying, relatively quick project that noticeably improved the look of our entire house. Small updates like switching to oil-rubbed bronze doorknobs make your rooms feel refreshed and more intentional. What projects have you finally checked off your list? Did they involve paint, sandpaper, or a healthy dose of procrastination?
Update – Want to know where we sourced items or which paint colors we used? Click the shop button below.
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