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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
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for Metal Finishing 1989-2025
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My hinges need a facelift!
2003
I'm updating our late '70's home and would like to clean all of our brass plated hinges and strike plates to restore the original luster and shine. I actually bought all new hinges to replace them
,but they are just a few millimeters too large for the current hinge recesses. I would rather clean up the old hinges instead of chiseling out the recesses to fit. I just finished painting all the jambs white and don't want to have to repaint them! Is there a good way to make my old hinges look new again without having to purchase equipment
(such as the vibratory maching mentioned in a previous question)? Is a brass cleaning liquid solution too harsh for plating? Now that all of our doors and trim are white, the hinges look dirty and drab!
Thanks for any response!
- St Peters, Missouri, USA
It's a big job. First, they need to soak in lacquer remover; then clean with Brasso ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , Copper Glo ⇦ this on eBay [affil links] or some other copper cleaner. Test them with a magnet to make sure they are solid brass, not brass plated steel before investing the effort.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2003
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