Obsessed with the Details - Cleaning Old Painted Brass

When a doorknob came off in my hand last week, it gave me the opportunity to spend a little time cleaning it up.  The transformation was so amazing, we took all the old crystal doorknobs off .....and now I'm trying to bring them back to their original lustre.

Doorknobs and more doorknobs

How do you tackle a mountain of doorknobs and brass hardware, covered in old paint?

Step 1 - Dig out an old vintage crockpot and cook the brass in a vinegar and water solution.  I wish I could say I thought of this myself, but it's a tip from the folks at This Old House (but I didn't put the doorknobs in the crockpot - I wasn't sure if they would be okay, so I just used elbow grease on them!)  It doesn't take long on the high setting, mine were 'ready' in half an hour.

Step 2 -  I used chopsticks to take the brass out of the pot.  And then pulled off the softened paint with chopsticks - it works like magic!

Before and After polishing

Step 3 -  I used a little Brasso on a cloth and polished them up.  These are nice, heavy brass and they cleaned up beautifully.

Step 4 -  Install and admire!

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