quote:
Originally posted by Falcon Gal:
Mike, would you be willing to give me some advice since you know something about cleaning brass? My house was built in 1925 and uses the old brass hinges and skeleton key door plates. They have multiple layers of paint on one side and nothing on the other side. I've been having a really bad time trying to get the paint off without damaging the brass. Paint remover might damage the metal so I've been soaking and scraping them. It takes forever. Brass cleaner doesn't get the paint off. Would citric acid be a good choice for cleaning them?
Hi FG
I would say that scraping is likely to cause more damage than paint stripper, as the latter is usually sodium hydroxide based and will not affect brass.
As GG suggests, heating them up would probably remove the paint safely, as will a soak in cheap cellulose thinners (gun wash) from an auto paint store.
When the paint is off, give them a soak in vinegar overnight, and then scrub with a nylon brush, or some 000 steel wool if scratched.
You can then polish them with metal polish, and lacquer them if you want.
HTH