I’d previously repainted door knobs and stair handrail brackets from gold to matte black.
I liked how those came out, and wanted to bring more visual consistency to the house — so this time I’m repainting the gold handles on the front-entry shoe cabinet to match.
“Just paint” DIY: less work than building from scratch, big change to room atmosphere.
Recommended for people who feel “I don’t have tools, full DIY is too high a bar” — paint is a low barrier to entry.
(Past black-paint DIYs are at stair handrails and door handles — Japanese; English versions forthcoming.)
Before
The original gold handles.
I had no actual issue with them, but having repainted the door handles black, I want everything to match.
Removing the Handles
Take the handles off so I can paint them.
They’re attached from the back with screws — just unscrew.
Came off easily.
Painting
The painting workflow:
① Clean the surface to be painted
② Primer
③ Black topcoat
Clean the surface
To improve paint adhesion, wash the handles. I used a melamine sponge and dish soap.
Primer
Primer is especially important for things you touch frequently, like handles. Better adhesion = much more durable paint.
I used Mitchakuron primer. Spray it first and the topcoat sticks much better.
Some-Q Primer Spray “Mitchakuron Multi” 420mL
Black Topcoat
For the black, I used “High-Durability Lacquer Spray (matte black)” — same as the stair handrails and door handles.
Start with the back / hard-to-reach side.
Asahi Pen High-Durability Lacquer Spray, 300mL, Matte Black
Then paint the front. After the first coat, let it dry for ~10 min, then a second pass.
Done
Reinstall the handles on the cabinet.
Done!
I went with matte black, but seeing the result I’m wondering if gloss would have been a better choice.
Might switch to gloss black later.
(Gloss-black version of the same lacquer:)
Asahi Pen High-Durability Lacquer Spray, 300mL, Black (gloss)
(Note: I later replaced the entire shoe cabinet with a DIY build — Japanese article available; English version forthcoming.)
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