:confused: Hello all...
Looking for some help or guidance ...
I'm nearing the end of a long project of refinishing two doors from our century old farmhouse. They were coated with seven layers of various paints, which I can't believe I was able to finally get off!
Now I'm at the sanding stage, and removed the original existing hardware from the doors. They're in pretty rough shape....consist of old metal 'box' looking type door mechanism and knobs.
Can anyone tell me what products I can use to shine or clean them up? Is it okay to paint them black, or would this affect the mechanism?
Any help at all would be appreciated
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I just read a tidbit of info on just this case in Martha's issue of Living! I don't have it handy at the moment but I think the idea was pretty simple.
Use an old pot that you don't care about and mix water and baking soda, bring to a boil with knobs and let cool? Apparently the paint is supposed to fall off? Maybe it's on her site?
I will check tonight, I was going to use the tip for myself but haven't gotten to it yet. I got a beautiful antique lions head door knocker that has been aged and painted!!! Can't wait to restore, if only there were more hrs in the day!!LOL
Take a look around [url]www.oldhouseweb.com/newBB/[/url] There are people there dealing with all sorts of old houses and their issues. There are some very expert folks there who know exactly how to fix various things so it's helpful.
As for those knobs, my guess would be the rusty ones may be past their due date but you never know. Knobs are much easier to find than the other parts and they are also reproduced and can be had cheaper than the time it takes to try and fix badly damaged ones.There is ebay and various sites you can find out about at the old house forum where you can check things out. Also Lee Valley carries a lot of reproductions. Flea markets also are good places to look for door knobs as well as any salvage places that may be in your area.
Thanks for the info....I definitely want to 'salvage' them because they are original to the doors. Over the years, someone had painted them black (underneath several other layers of white, pink, green...), and I stripped that off too.
I don't believe mine have the 'tiger' finish that you described. I'll definitely try to find some of the rottenstone you were speaking of.
The doors also have different door knobs - one is a black ceramic, but the other is some sort of plain metal (that has rusted). Would you leave the metal door knob alone too?
Can you also tell me about the old house forum that you visit?
If I am picturing the part correctly, those box mechanisms are the hardest part of old doorknobs to find (if you need to replace them) so handle with care.
What are they like now? I'm asking because on an old house forum I visit someone thought they would take a finish off some hardware only to be told the finish was original and quite rare (called tiger as it has some dark and some orangish effects). If there is good old paint on them just strip it off with stripper etc. being careful not avoid scratching. Chances are they will buff right up with some fine steel wool (if you want them really shiny maybe try something like rottenstone after some steel wool. It's a powder for final finishing that is available most places and you just add a little water and buff away). BTW also be careful if they look like tarnished metal as that also might be an original finish.
I wouldn't paint them unless they were beyond hope. If you really want black I'd get some replicas or something similar and box up the old ones to put in safe keeping.
Can you tell I'm a real stickler for maintaining the original stuff when ever you can?
You might want to check out Ebay and see what similar fixtures cost to get an idea of whether it's worth saving them or not. Some things are easier to replace than others and better to know before you do anything to them.