Painting Furniture Hardware

I paint a lot of furniture.  Most times I change out the hardware.  But sometimes I like to paint them to match the piece.  I've come up with a way to get those knobs and pulls painted up quick and easy.  And today I'm going to share my technique with all of you! 

The only supply (other than paint) needed is a styrofoam meat tray.  I use these mainly for disposable paint palettes but they work perfectly for painting hardware too.  (Styrofoam plates would also work, but I like to recycle)  Simply press your hardware through the tray.  An impression in the styrofoam shows you exactly were to press the screws through. 

On the underside, I tape the screw heads so that the hardware doesn't move while painting. 

I take the tray outside and hold the tray to easily spray on a primer coat.  I will do the top of the hardware first, then tip the tray over to get both sides of any handles, which are hanging straight down.

I add bulldog clips to the sides of the tray, run a dowel through the handles and prop up on stacked paint tubs.  This allows the handles of the pulls to continue to hang straight down, drying both sides at the same time.  Once the primer is dry, I continue to use the tray to hold the hardware while I paint and wax or varnish, continuing to hang upside down until the final coat is dry. 

I keep them attached to the tray until I'm ready to put them back on the furniture.   This keeps all my screws/pieces in one place!  To see what piece of furniture these knobs/pulls ended up on, follow me on Facebook!