Most buyers loathe 1970s brass handles as they make houses feel dated. But who wants the trouble and expense of replacing all the door handles? No need! You can update the look quickly and cheaply. When I moved into my ranch house every interior door handle (and all the door hinges) were brass. I wanted a quick update without replacing all those handles. I also painted some of the wood doors white (a coat of BIN primer then three thin coats of white paint put on with a small foam roller and the doors entered the 21st century!)
I followed these instructions (though I skipped the primer step as you can see from the image below that the spray includes a primer). I updated my brass fixtures for the cost of some brushed nickel spray paint and a spray on clear varnish. Be patient, either remove the handles (very easy) or mask everything and spray lightly, twice. As well as saving on new door handles, this saved me the cost of the labor for someone to change them.
It worked for all my bath fittings and a black light fitting too! Everything that I sprayed is holding up to everyday wear and tear perfectly which is also what the link says – handles are still great two years later.
