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Painting Brass Hardware to Look Worn or Antique White

2001

We recently refinished and painted white an old set of French Provincial bedroom furniture for our daughter. It looks very nice except for the handles. It has aged old brass hardware with yellowed ivory/cream colored paint on parts of each handle. My daughter saw similar white bedroom suites in several furniture stores (it must be the current thing), and they had white "worn" handles which is how she would like hers, and I agree they looked very nice. These handles are not standard size, we have researched replacing them, and have not found their size, so we have to work with the existing ones.

Will we mess up totally trying to spray paint them white and then rubbing to make them look "worn" or antique like the ones in the stores? How do they get the new ones in stores to look antiqued/worn? Instead of rubbing, is there an antiquer that is applied onto parts of the painted handles? Would we also need to strip off that old paint before spray painting and polish the brass to remove all the old tarnish?

Thank you so much for your time.

Denise Clapper
- Norman, Oklahoma

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Hi All

We have just bought a house which needs to be totally renovated internally. This will include news doors internally. In the shed I have found about 20 New Brass Coloured Door handles, in a fantastic design. However my family have already decided that the house will have White door handles. Please can someone advise there is any chance of painting these handles to a different colour? I have never done this before, and will need to paint the handles to a good standard.

Mr Rangi
hobbyist - Kent, UK
2007

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Hi. letters 22255 and 16430 offer good insights into painting brass. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
June 23, 2008

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July 26, 2010

I would like to know the answer to the question about the hardware distressing on the french provential furniture. I would also like to see a picture of how this furniture looks painted white, as I am considering doing that to mine -- if anyone has done this and has a picture. I am concerned about the gold accents on the furniture and if I just paint over that so it is solid white, and if so, how does that look on this style furniture?

cynthia colley
- mobile Alabama