How to Update Door Hardware for Under $10

This blog will show you how to update door hardware for under $10. Follow this DIY guide, the easy and inexpensive way!

When giving my front door a makeover, I realized that the door hardware in my house was very old and outdated. I set out to purchase a new doorknob and hinges but ran into trouble when I realized my door lock is not standard size. I also didn’t like the idea of throwing away perfectly good hardware just because I didn’t like the color.

This inspired me to find a way to update my existing hardware, and boy am I glad I did! If I had purchased all new hardware for all the doors in my house that could have cost around $500! I used this method for all of the interior door updates in my house as well.

Most of the doorknobs in my house looked like this.

Or this… yuck!

As I mentioned, I started out first updating my front door to give it some decorative trim, a fresh paint color, and black hardware. I did this for all for less than $50! You can check out this front door makeover here.

The front door was one of my favorite DIY projects, but once that was done the closet door next to it looked REALLY bad. So, my next task was to also update the hardware on the rest of the doors in my house. You can see how I updated the interior doors in my house, including the paint colors I chose, by clicking on this link.

Updating Old Door Hardware

Materials

Prepare Hardware

First, remove all of your door hardware. If you are refinishing the hinges this also means removing the door from the frame.

If your hardware has old paint on it, you will want to remove as much of this as possible. My hinges had several layers of paint on them, so it took some time to remove it all.

I used the edge of a paint scraper to chip away the paint, which actually worked out pretty well. But I will warn you, it gets messy!

Then I cleaned all of the pieces and let them dry.

Hinges after removing the white paint.

Spray-Paint Hardware

Begin by prepping your spray-painting area. I used a flattened cardboard box to hold up my pieces because that is what I had lying around (thank you, Amazon addiction). You can also use a piece of Styrofoam or really anything else you can think of that you don’t mind getting covered in paint.

Don’t forget to also paint the tops of all of your screws!

This is a picture of my super easy setup. Nothing fancy!

Be sure to read the back of the spray can instructions before starting. It will tell you how long to shake the bottle and how far away to spray from.

TIP: I recommend swiftly moving the can back and forth over the pieces to get a light, even coat. Holding the can in one spot for too long can cause paint drips.

Wait for it to dry, then make sure you covered all areas of the hardware. If any spots were missed, rotate the pieces and spray again.

Allow hardware to completely dry before attaching it back onto the door.

TIP: To remove spray paint from your hands, scrub them with a generous amount of soap and olive oil.

And that’s it!

It really is that simple.

I couldn’t be happier that I went the DIY route instead of buying new hardware! For under $10 I was able to update all of the door hardware in my house. You can’t beat that!

My living room with my DIY updated front door and closet door.

Now all of my interior doors match my front door with beautiful, black hardware. View my front door makeover and interior door makeover posts for more details on how I completed these projects!