Covering A Doorknob With Aluminum Foil: What It's For And Why It's Recommended

Giving your doors a fresh coat of paint is a quick way to revitalize them, at least until a stray drip lands on the knob. No matter what type of paint you use on your doors — acrylic latex, oil-based, or anything in between — dried paint is a pain to remove, especially from tight crevices where the knob meets the base plate. You can't always rely on painter's tape to protect it, as it rarely molds well around a round knob, especially if you have one of those fun and wacky doorknobs with an even trickier shape. As such, unscrewing it before loading up your roller might seem like the only solution. While many feel that's the best way to get quality results, it also means hunting down a screwdriver, keeping track of the tiny parts so you don't misplace them, and spending time and effort to take the hardware off the door slab. And why get into that hassle when saving doorknobs from paint spills is as easy as wrapping a piece of aluminum foil around it?

Yes, the same aluminum foil that's lying around in your kitchen drawer right now offers an easy and inexpensive way to save your door hardware from paint spills. Unlike painter's tape, aluminum foil can mold itself to the shape of a doorknob (or any other shape, for that matter) and seal the corners. There's no need to tear multiple strips for full coverage either — you can cover the entire knob with a single piece of foil. Better yet, after the paint cures, you can cleanly peel it away and maybe even reuse it for the next knob. 

To keep your doorknobs from getting dirty, tear out a piece of foil large enough to wrap around them. Since they come in different sizes, it's best to snip out pieces separately for every door instead of cutting them to the same size. Then, press a strip snugly around the doorknob, ensuring it covers every section and runs right up to where the knob meets the slab. Tuck the foil securely in place, especially around the base plate, since it's most likely to catch stray paint drips. Although you'll have to spare a few extra seconds per handle, keep in mind that a little extra care goes a long way toward keeping your weekend project quick and low stress.

Once you've finished painting, wait for the door to dry before you remove the foil. If throwing it away seems wasteful, there are several genius aluminum foil home hacks you can consider to squeeze even more use from it. That being said, know that this hack may not be the most practical if you have installed keypad smart locks on your front door or you need to protect a large backplate as well as the knob itself; painter's tape is likely your best bet in that case.