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You are visiting: Home » Decorating/DIY » Create Your Decor » How to Spray Paint Drawer Pulls and Cabinet Knobs

How to Spray Paint Drawer Pulls and Cabinet Knobs

by Lindsay Ballard on June 14, 2011 36 Comments

Spray paint is one of my favorite ways to transform something old into something brand new.  It’s cheap, easy and quick, so I don’t have to spend a lot of money or time to breathe new life into an item that’s seen better days.

When spray painting smaller objects, such as drawer pulls or cabinet knobs, I always run into issues with making sure they will stand straight so the paint goes on evenly and smooth. Is it just me or can those little things be top heavy and fall over in the slightest breeze?  Anyway, I finally had an a-ha moment and figured out how to hold them in place while being able to paint their entire surfaces at the same time.

How to Spray Paint Drawer Pulls and Cabinet Knobs

1. Find a flat surface of some kind that you don’t mind putting nails into. Try to use something you have on hand – there’s no need to buy something new for this. I had a sheet of foam core, so that’s what I used. An empty cardboard box, a thin scrap of wood or a small piece of styrofoam would work, too.

2. If your pulls have more than one screw hole, measure the distance between them and then draw a straight line that length on your surface. Draw the same number of lines as pulls, making sure you leave enough space between them that the pulls will fit without touching (you will later see that I had to move some of mine).

How to Paint Drawer Pulls and Cabinet Knobs

3. Using small nails (I used roofing nails), poke a hole at the end of each line. Then, push nails through the bottom of your surface.  Slip your pulls over the nails.

How to Paint Drawer Pulls and Cabinet Knobs

4. Carry your surface outside.  You can happily spray away knowing that your pulls won’t fall over.

How to Paint Drawer Pulls and Cabinet Knobs

5.  Let your pulls dry about an hour, and they are ready to go onto your project.  Hopefully, you will be as happy with your finished results as I am with mine!

How to Paint Drawer Pulls and Cabinet Knobs

A reader asked last week how I sprayed the pulls for my yellow Miss Matched dresser without them sticking.  They were tarnished brass, so I cleaned them with steel wool.  Then, I spray primed them with the hinged pull pushed up, waited for that to dry, and then primed them with the pull facing down.  Once the primer was dry, I repeated the process with flat paint.  My personal experience has been that gloss spray paint is more tacky than flat paint, so that may be why some hinged pulls tend to stick.

What has been your experience with painting small, top heavy items like drawer pulls and knobs?

Joining Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage.

About Lindsay Ballard

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.

« How to Create Your Own “Grab My Button” Code
Mastering the Master Bedroom {the Thrift Store Cast-Off Dresser} »

Comments

  1. Stephanie says

    June 14, 2011 at 8:04 am

    Great idea! I am thinking of painting all of the dresser knobs in my room!

    Reply
  2. Jennifer says

    June 14, 2011 at 8:27 am

    I’ve been thinking of doing this to our kitchen knobs. I’m so glad you did this tutorial. I’m pretty creative when it comes to solving problems (I am an engineer), but I hadn’t had time to think about how they’d stand up. Thanks for posting this! I can’t wait to get some free time and start painting. Do you have any hints/tips on spraying cabinet hinges?

    Reply
    • Jennifer Brasher says

      July 10, 2012 at 2:58 pm

      Why not attach them to something that could hang them upside down. Such as across deck railing so they will hang freely and you could paint everything at the same time. I will be trying this soon.

      Reply
  3. Jaclyn says

    June 14, 2011 at 8:42 am

    I just spray painted some knobs for a vanity I just bought and I stuck them in some styrofoam. The spray paint melted the styrofoam a bit but It held them up nicely. They were big large round knobs really top heavy. They came out pretty good. I want to get some different ones but these will work for now =)

    Reply
    • karla says

      December 20, 2019 at 5:53 pm

      great idea….Does the paint stand up to constant use?

      Reply
  4. Kelsey says

    June 14, 2011 at 9:05 am

    You’re genius! I will definitely be using this technique.

    Reply
  5. Amanda @ Serenity Now says

    June 14, 2011 at 12:12 pm

    Those pulls look great! I’ve been wanting to spray paint the knobs and pulls in my kitchen for ages, but I know I’ll have to do the cabinet hinges too. I had planned on using a piece of that foam board stuff to hold things in place, but the hinges seem to have a small plastic piece on them…now not sure if I can paint them or not. :s

    Reply
  6. Holly says

    June 14, 2011 at 2:09 pm

    Love this idea! I’ve spray painted pulls and knobs before, but I just leaned them one way, painted, then leaned them the other way. LOL. Great idea!

    Reply
  7. Sheila says

    June 14, 2011 at 2:23 pm

    Clever! I have hung tricky small things by a string and then painted them (under my deck).

    Reply
  8. Kim @ Everything Etsy says

    June 14, 2011 at 4:21 pm

    You’re a super smart cookie! Thanks, Lindsay!

    ~Kim

    Reply
  9. Holly@Country Girl says

    June 15, 2011 at 11:57 am

    Love this technique. I did the same thing when I did my dresser pulls, but took a large cardboard box and cut the top and one side off and put it on top of a piece of styrofoam. That way when you spray the paint it all stays inside the box. We didn’t really have anywhere to spray other than by our deck so it kept all of the paint contained so we didn’t get it all over everything!

    Reply
  10. Ches says

    June 15, 2011 at 7:57 pm

    The power of paint is wonderful. It can save sooo much money. Thanks for sharing your tips.

    Reply
  11. Kristen at Hillside Hideaway says

    June 15, 2011 at 9:09 pm

    GREAT idea! I’ve been spraying one side, waiting for it to dry, and then turning it over…this will save a ton of time!

    Reply
  12. Katie @ Newcomb Home says

    June 16, 2011 at 12:47 am

    Lindsay, I posted about this same thing earlier today! Great minds must think alike 🙂 I saw your post on the Shabby Chic Cottage linky party and thought, ‘Ooh, I wonder how she does it?’ So I clicked over and sure enough, we had pretty much the same idea (but you do a much better job of explaining it!). The yellow dresser looks fantastic!

    Reply
  13. Vicky says

    June 16, 2011 at 8:40 am

    You’re BRILLANT! Now why didn’t I think of that…………..?

    Reply
  14. sharon says

    June 16, 2011 at 3:29 pm

    Thankyou, thankyou! This post was perfect timing for me. I had just sanded and undercoated two bedside chests and was wondering how to do the handles! Yay, and thankyou!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      June 16, 2011 at 9:15 pm

      Perfect! Good luck!

      Reply
  15. caroline @ c.w.frosting says

    July 11, 2011 at 1:25 am

    I’ve always hung things by clothespins from a coat hanger (like this), but it blows around a lot, especially when the spray paint hits! Your contraption is much more stable! Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Reply
  16. Karissa says

    April 3, 2012 at 7:16 pm

    Great idea! Thanks! I will definitely use that!

    Reply
  17. Melanie says

    August 10, 2012 at 10:07 pm

    Brilliant. I have new-found confidence after reading your post and am going to go for it! Do you have any tips on painting cabinet hinges?

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      August 10, 2012 at 10:53 pm

      Yay, Melanie! You can definitely do it.

      For hinges, I’d lay them flat and open. Prime and paint one side and flip it over once it’s dry. Let them sit for a few days before you install them just to make sure they don’t stick.

      Reply
      • Paula says

        August 13, 2012 at 10:34 am

        Do the hinges still close well after you spray them?

        Reply
        • Lindsay says

          August 16, 2012 at 3:30 pm

          I think they still should – I’ve never done it myself, but I know tons of people who have painted their hinges.

          Reply
  18. Jenn says

    November 22, 2012 at 10:01 pm

    Lindsay – I used this technique (with an empty box from a case of beer :-p) for my pulls and it worked great! Thanks for the tip!

    Reply
    • Lindsay Ballard says

      November 25, 2012 at 9:18 pm

      NICE! That’s my kind of recycling! 🙂

      Reply
  19. Robin says

    January 24, 2013 at 12:00 pm

    Now I can finish the dresser I am refinishing without having to find new odd size drawer pulls. Great tips!

    Reply
    • Lindsay Ballard says

      January 24, 2013 at 10:25 pm

      Oh, yay! I love being able to use the original pulls.

      Reply
      • Stella says

        December 15, 2016 at 8:40 pm

        At last! Someone with the insight to solve the prlembo!

        Reply
      • kredit mobil yang murah says

        February 8, 2017 at 10:24 am

        Hi, CookieThank God for your amazing resilience and will to keep going. May He continue to bless you. Good to read your blog and also your tweets. I actually liked you in that long hair and the glasses – real cool! It has finally stopped raining this past week and we have glorious sunshine most mornings. And I miss you both a lot – especially when I bake bread.Scary to think how little time I have left here in Mussoorie – and so much to do!Meanwhile much love to you both. God bless. Mira

        Reply
      • autokredit says

        May 24, 2017 at 10:14 am

        I consider myself a coleman fan. Grew up with the stuff. This soft case is nice if you have the shrouds or want to carry extra mantles, etc. I am able to keep them in the case with the lantern. Very convenient

        Reply
  20. Nicole says

    March 17, 2013 at 6:41 am

    This was just what i needed! Can I ask what color was that you used in this project? Also, what type of primer to use?

    Reply
    • Lindsay Ballard says

      March 21, 2013 at 2:08 pm

      Hi Nicole! The color of the knobs? I think it was just flat black. Here’s more info on the dresser I put them on: http://makelyhome.com/mastering-the-master-bedroom-the-thrift-store-cast-off-dresser

      Reply
  21. Qiana says

    December 30, 2013 at 9:58 pm

    This is great! Especially adding the info about nails in the cardboard or whatever so you can have the pulls dry! Just what I needed! Question…I live in NYC and dont have space to spray paint and if I do find a place outside its cold here and I know I am going to have to do so many coats so I’m just like that is not going to work…how bad is it to spray paint inside? I just dont want to do it in the house and my walls are now black with the spray paint spritzing all over the place. Any suggestions are well welcome

    Reply
  22. Zenshin Bennen says

    April 22, 2018 at 6:27 pm

    Here is a variation that might help. Because it is hard to spray the underside of a drawer handle. I drilled holes in each end of a piece of 3/4 inch wood about 1 wide x6 inches long. Screw a drawer pull into each end with the body of the pull extending out from the holes. Then you can hold the piece of wood and spray the pulls inside, outside and underneath. After spraying you can set the piece of wood down on a flat surface to dry.

    Reply
  23. Jenny says

    January 22, 2020 at 8:06 am

    Thank you!! Knew this was out there somewhere on the internet. So glad I found it. Didn’t like the idea of standing them up as they would have the potential to fall over.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. How to Spray Paint Drawer Pulls | Decor Hacks says:
    July 9, 2011 at 11:37 am

    […] for propping up pulls that makes it a snap to spray paint them. Why didn’t I think of that? How to Spray Paint Drawer Pulls at Living With Lindsay // […]

    Reply

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About Makely

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.


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