Painting plastic door handles

ashli_2

Having renovated my new house virtually from top to bottom this summer I predictably run out of steam right at the final hurdle and there are a few small outstanding jobs that are letting the side down.


One of these is the door handles. I can't afford to replace the door handles (have you SEEN how much they cost? :eek: ) so I am thinking of painting the ones I have.

They are I think 50's or 60's plastic monstrosities...if you do a search on ebay for 'plastic door handle' you will see the kind I mean. Would these come up ok with some matt black spray paint, do you think?

misgrace

Invest in a tin of 'ESP' from any DIY store, and follow the instructions on the tin.
ESP is a surface primer for plastic, melamine etc, and really does do what is says on the tin.

I use it quite a lot in my jobs, and it actually works, and your paint wont flake or peel off.

ormus

try wickes for packs of door handles. cheaper in bulk.

painting plastic isnt too bad as long as you rub it down well. most paint will stick to it ok in the short term. you may have to reapply it every yr or so.
esp if it gets knocked.
but if money is tight, then its a cheap method.

andrew-b

We bought packs of cheap door handles (including hinges and latches) from B&Q....think we had to search through 15 pairs before we found 5 pairs that weren't scratched, didnt have blemishes or damage and lined up with each other. Also the screws supplied for the hinges were the wrong size as they stood proud of the countersink holes - though B&Q swapped them for us. So you do get what you pay for!

Wickes, B&Q and homebase cheap handles all appear the same and similarly priced ...but i discovered later that the Wickes ones mention on the box a one year guarantee but the others didnt. We got the B&Q ones to get 10% off on my dads over60 card but it turned out more hassle than it was worth!

Andy

Contains_Mild_Peril

Mixing PVA glue with any water-based paint will make it adhere to plastic. My local Poundland recently had Plasticote spray paint in a light brown sort of woody colour, so if you have a Poundland near you it might be worth a look. Vintage plastic monstrosities in their original orginal state often do actually have a market though (as you'll know since you mentioned eBay) so if you bought cheap new handles perhaps from a market or £1 shop, the old ones couild contribute towards their cost.

ashli_2

Unfortunatley most of my vintage monstrosities have been 'improved' with innumerable coats of badly applied many coloured gloss paint so really aren't in a fit state to be sold. :rolleyes:


Thanks for the suggestions

Jonesya

Have you checked the online suppliers - Screwfix, Toolstation? Toolstation knock out 2 packs of standard door handles for ~£6, pair of brass door knobs ~£5.

If you go to the expense of buying aerosols of plastic paint, ESP etc then you won't save much over new and I doubt they'll look as good.

real1314

aldi and lidl do modern style handles from time to time - £5 a pair last time

also have a look on ebay - same sort of prices, usually in sets of pairs, half a dozen or so.

andrew-b

Jonesya wrote: »

Have you checked the online suppliers - Screwfix, Toolstation? Toolstation knock out 2 packs of standard door handles for ~£6, pair of brass door knobs ~£5.

I would be wary of buying the cheap handles online as you'll get whatever is at the top of the box in the warehouse probably. From our experience of cheap handles you need to check them over both in the shop and then after removing them from the packaging (B&Q were all done up in shrinkwrap that took ages to remove without causing damage to handles). Sure you can send them back to screwfix or toolstation but it's far quicker to go into a shop. If your buying better quality handles then it might not be as hit and miss.

Andy