All Brass

Nothing but brass. And little sass.

With the reality of a new family member joining us soon, "fix up" mode kicked into high gear over the holidays. Crown mouldings, pink rooms, refinished floors, re-hang doors...

By far the best task over the course was stripping the mid-century brass plated door hinges throughout the house.

A: its a relatively easy job, albeit messy

B: the payoff is quick and worth it.... for real.

(these had very little paint. they were the last to go in and I forgot to take a picture of the others... my bad... but you can get the idea)

Painted hinges are a little pet peeve of mine. Nothing I lose sleep over, but something so easily avoided. So here is the deal. Take said painted hinges and submerge in stripper.... paint stripper people... After they soak for an hour or so, I dump the hinges and goop that is left over into a 5 gallon bucket over chicken wire. This gets rid of most of the grossness and catches the hinges in the wire saving you from fishing them out with rubber gloves.... oh yeah... wear some serious rubber gloves and eye protection.... paint stripper is serious...

Next I soak in mineral spirits to neutralize the goop and begin scrubbing with a light steel brush to remove any stubborn pieces of paint. That being said, the paint usually falls off without any effort.

Now I soak the hinges in steaming hot, soapy water,,, rinse and dry. Now I am not a fan of shiny brass hardware unless it is very specific to a period piece.... However, what you have now is a beautiful patina on brass hinges that you can't go out and pick up at the local hardware store..... It will change your doors!!! Serious character. Makes me happy.

More Brass:

When one of these boxes shows up in the mail, you may strip your clothes off and run through the streets screaming.... it is that exciting.... beware....

Finally, my new Lie-Nielsen dovetail saw. Chamfered brass back... told you there was more brass.

Make 'em say uhhhh!!!

Hope you are all having a great start to the new year!