tmclone wrote:
I'm finally tackling the french doors in my diningroom. The house was
built in the early 1800s, so the doors are real, solid wood, but
before we bought the house some moron not only painted them, many,
many times, they also painted over the brass hardware! So, I've
removed all the metal and I'm boiling it in water and baking soda. It
usually takes at least 30 minutes, but almost all the paint is off
after 15. Yay! Really amazing the number of color layers that came
off. Some people have VERY odd decorating styles!

Ok, so pretty much everyone here probably already knows this, but
since my neighbor's son, who works for a construction firm, looked at
me funny when I mentioned it, I thought it was worth a post, in case
someone didn't realize how easy it was to strip paint from metal
without using toxic and expensive chemicals.

spray paint requires the chemicals, but if someone just slopped house
paint over polished metal with a brush, absolutely, you can get most of
it off with just hot water and some scrubbing. BTDT (for exactly the
same reason) a previous landlord loved me because he was all ready to
replace all the door hardware at a house I was living in and I
"restored" all the nice old original brass stuff that way, and even
clear lacquered it for him. He couldn't believe that you could do stuff
like that yourself... (some people just don't try, I guess)

nate

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