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The Impatient Gardener

Cottage, DIY

More spray paint magic: This time on hinges

February 20, 2012

Having successfully spray painted a handful of odd things including a lamp (including the shade) and our wall-mounted stereo speakers, I’m far more inclined to at least give spray paint a chance to improve a situation before buying something new. And once again, spray paint has come through!

As I’ve said from the beginning, it was crucial to keep the office renovation on a shoestring budget. There are some great deals to be found on cabinet hardware (the handles I got from Ikea were incredibly well priced, I thought) but hinges are a whole other thing. And there are 32 hinges on the small wall of cabinets in my office. Even if, by some miracle, I found hinges for $2 each, I’d already be at $64. No way, José.

All that shiny brass hardware HAD to go!

I had nothing to lose by trying to spray paint them. And thankfully, after all that pain of staining the counters and painting the cabinets, this was an incredibly easy project.

I took them all off when I was painting the cabinet doors and plunged them in a bucket of my favorite pre-paint cleaner Dirtex and gave them a really good scrub with a stiff-bristle brush. I’m not sure what was on them, but they were really dirty.

I pulled out one of the many old bedsheets I save for projects like this as well as for moving, protecting plants from an early or late-season frost and covering up the dog bed and just laid them out in the driveway on that. Lest anyone forget how long ago I started this project, just take a look at these pictures. It was fall!

I picked up Rust-Oleum Universal in Titanium Silver, only because it was the only silver-toned metallic spray paint available at the hardware store that day (I would have gone for a satin nickel if it had been available). I’ve really gotten the hang of spray painting and like everyone says, the key is to do several very light coats. So light that the first few don’t really look like much paint has been applied. It’s not really until the third time I go over it that it is a different color and I usually do at least one more coat. This all happens in the span of about 15 minutes. When you’re doing super thin coats, it doesn’t take long for them to dry. I did give them a good hour or so to dry before I flipped them over and did the other side.

Sidenote: When on earth are those Viburnums that I planted to screen the neighbor’s shed and never-used boat going to grow enough to do some actual screening? Speaking of which, does anyone want to buy my neighbor’s house? Supposedly it’s quietly for sale. If you buy it and move that godforsaken boat off the property line, I promise I will offer you first choice of any plants I dig up, divide or don’t have room for.

Then I brought in spray paint drying supervisor Hudson to guard them while they dried. OK, I didn’t really. He apparently thought that we should have bedsheets in the driveway all the time and why on earth wouldn’t you sit on it if someone laid it out all nice like that.

I did have to buy new screws because I figured painting the old ones would be either a big pain or a massive failure or both.

Ack! I wish I had fixed that screw to turn it north-south before taking this picture. I hate when slotted screws aren’t lined up.

I’ve been really impressed with how well the hinges have held up. I’m not seeing any wear on them at all. Granted, these cabinets aren’t constantly being opened like they would be in a kitchen situation, but we are rifling through there at least once a day looking for something or other.
So that’s the easiest project in this office renovation. Certainly much easier than painting the cabinets, dealing with that crazy counter and even the fabric-covered bulletin board “backsplash.”

before and after office paint
by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
5 Comments

About Erin @ The Impatient Gardener

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previous post: Painting the office cabinets
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Comments

  1. Jody says: February 12, 2019 at 10:24 am

    Great job! I am getting ready to do the same. I have had good luck painting screws by poking them standing upright in a cardboard box.

    Reply
  2. Molly says: August 30, 2019 at 2:40 pm

    I have looked at thousands of posts on Pinterest, but yours was so funny with all your comments that I had to write a comment. Thank you for your humor! It’s always appreciated and needed when doing home improvements!

    Reply
  3. Connie says: December 25, 2021 at 7:31 pm

    I stuck the screws in a piece of cardboard, ( very close together) and sprayed them right along with the hinges. It worked great.

    Reply
  4. Shirley says: January 10, 2022 at 5:54 pm

    I like your idea…but seriously did you have to show us that unruly screw. 🤦‍♀️ After seeing that Godforsaken boat that was the icing on the cake…oh cake now that sounds good 😋. (Jk)

    Reply
  5. Noah Enholm says: June 28, 2022 at 9:34 pm

    The color and sheen of brushed nickel paint are exquisite and resemble those of stainless steel. Imagine a soft metal surface that is neither too glossy nor too matte and can provide a subtle yet stunning appearance. It makes sense why an increasing number of individuals are painting furniture and other household items in this shade.

    Reply

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The Impatient Gardener

Do you love gardening? Me too! I'm Erin and I garden in Southeastern Wisconsin, zone 5. The Impatient Gardener is all about real-life gardening: the good parts, the bad bits and even the funny stuff. It's part information, part inspiration and a little bit commiseration. Thanks for visiting.

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I had a rather unpleasant realization last night w I had a rather unpleasant realization last night when I remembered that I’d not yet ordered tomato seeds. And I’m not going to rectify that until I dig into my seed stash, because I don’t go through tomato seeds quickly so there are definitely some lurking down there. 

I never used to grow tomatoes from seed because there are great varieties to be had in garden centers (including many heirloom varieties). But it’s almost non-negotiable for me now that I’m a convert to dwarf tomatoes. If you’re not familiar with the #dwarftomatoproject championed by @nctomatoman and others, these are heirloom varieties that are crossed with dwarf varieties to create plant that produces all the flavor and interest of an heirloom in a short (usually less than 4 feet) plant. 

They are particularly great in my tall raised beds. Of course I leave room to try new non-dwarf varieties every year (I loved Sun Dipper from @panamseed last year and I’ll grow it again).

Last year was a good tomato year and the photo shows some of the varieties I harvested in one day. I hope this summer will be equally good for the tomato harvest. 

One of my favorite questions to ask gardeners is: What is your favorite tomato variety to grow? So have at it in the comments because inquiring minds want to know!
And this is why I leave my winter containers assem And this is why I leave my winter containers assembled until at least March. A dusting of snow gives them a whole new look (even if it’s shades of gray). Also, I think I love my Limelight hydrangea even more in winter. Fabulous winter interest!
I’m going to look for opportunities to add more I’m going to look for opportunities to add more ferns to my garden this year. They are such interesting plants and often real problem solvers, bringing texture and color to places that many plants aren’t interested in. Athyrium niponicum (Japanese painted fern) ‘Crested Surf’ grows well for me in part shade (even pushing a bit into part sun) and looks great next to Persicaria ‘Golden Arrow’.
Birds chirping, glorious fresh (i.e. not nibbled o Birds chirping, glorious fresh (i.e. not nibbled on) foliage, and texture galore. I can’t wait to have moments like this again. The star, by the way is Hakonechloa ‘All Gold’ which looks so good with the bold foliage of Ligularia dentata ‘Desdemona’ next to it. 

With the new path, this area will be getting a small revamp. It’s the next spot I’ll be focusing my planning on.
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