From Gross to Glory!

After a long pause, I am happy that Mission:Foursquare is back! And so much has happened since I last penned ... pecked ... stroked ... typed? You get the point.

It comes as no surprise to my friends that I am long on ideas and short on skills! I am totally willing to learn, however. But, because I am a perfectionist about home stuff, I don't have much patience with myself.

So, it is empowering when I discover something I can do - and I can do well! Case-in-point:

 

 

Nearly all of the door knobs on the first floor of our new/old American Foursquare that was built in 1922 look like this one above. The knobs on the second floor are also glass but with plain brass sockets and no back plates. All of them have paint on them. Some more than others.

 

I was going to take all these to the Brass Shop in Hampton, Virginia and have them restored. As it turns out, the Brass Shop that used to be on Queen Street has closed.  But then, I thought, "I could do this?"

 

So, I looked online and I found this How-To on ehow.com. I was skeptical. You can really remove paint from brass just using baking soda?

What the heck? I followed the directions on one door knob and it's parts, as an experiment. You just put baking soda and water (4 tablespoons per quart of water) in a pan, enough to cover the pieces. Then boil for 30 to 40 minutes. I boiled mine for 30 minutes. Here is what it looked like when I took the pieces (from the picture above) out of the very murky boiling water:

 

 

 

After allowing the pieces to dry to the touch, I rubbed the parts with a wet rag and the paint just wiped off! Seriously!

 

Then, I had the pieces that looked awful - even worse than before. At this point, I wasn't even sure they were brass? Luckily, there was a container of Brasso under the kitchen sink. After some Brasso and some elbow grease ...

 

 

Viola! 

 

 

 

Here it is next to another door knob that I haven't polished yet.

 

 

 

The last step is to apply a coat of spray lacquer so the brass won't continue to tarnish.

By my count, I have restored one out of ten door knobs - but sooooo worth it! And, I have a new skill!