Most Asked Questions #1

How to strip painted metal hardware?

There are many techniques, some probably better than mine. I begin by soaking the hardware in a dilute bath of tri sodium phosphate (TSP). I prefer TSP to conventional paint strippers, for cost, handling, and disposal. (Incidentally, one neighbor swears by the de-laminating power of Coca Cola, as if you needed another reason to quit drinking the stuff.)
I prefer to work with TSP in a liquid rather than a powder form. Over time the powder binds, has to be chipped loose, becomes airborne and inopportunely snorted. The liquid TSP substitutes seem to work fine as well.

How long do things need to soak? After a few hours begin to probe or even score the paint with dental picks and awls. Wire brushes and scrubbing pads are your principal weapons. Dental floss can penetrate hard to reach places. Use superfine steel wool for the final clean up. Sometimes pieces need to soak longer, even days, with the TSP solution refreshed periodically.

Now and then I'll leave something in too long and it'll grow rusty; but even those apparent casualties can often be reclaimed, scrubbed, polished clean, and re-plated. Some like to lacquer (usually spray on) their hardware afterwords, or wipe with furniture polish (like Old English).

These butterfly hinges had been painted repeatedly. I worked on each for about 2 minutes, on three or four occasions, over a week.
None have been polished or lacquered.
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Thanks everybody for coming by my open yesterday, in the extreme (outdoor) heat. I'll be back in the air conditioned comfort of 2361 W. 20th tomorrow from 11 - 2:30, the last scheduled showing until after the Western Heights home tour.