How to paint brass hardware

I’m not a big fan of bright, shinny brass, so the hardware on this dresser had to be black. Painting metal is just like painting any other surface. It must be very clean and a bit roughed up so the paint will properly adhere.

Below are step by step insturctions on how to paint brass. You can follow these same steps on any type of metal.

The first thing I did was soak the brass hardware in TSP to eliminate all of the gunk that had built up over the years. As you can see from the picture this hardware was nasty! The water turned dark brown. I rinsed and re-soaked multiple times and scrubbed with a brush to remove all of the yucky residue.

Next I used steel wool to lightly scratch the surface. This helps the paint adhere well.  After buffing each piece I then rinsed with water to remove any loose particles and the dust created from the steel wool.

Finally I painted the hardware black using Rusto-Oleum Painter’s Touch in Semi-Gloss black.

Tip. Use a board with holes drilled through it to secure the hardware. There is nothing worse than having your hardware blow over and mess up the fresh paint. If your painting pulls, like mine, hang them upside down so you can spray them from all angles and get both sides.