Cook hardware to remove paint
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Hot water paint stripping
Soak painted hardware in hot water to loosen many layers of paint and make cleaning much easier.
If you want to strip paint from
metal without the nasty
fumes and mess of chemical
strippers, just fill a slow cooker with
water and set the dial to high. The
heat and moisture will soften the
paint, and often it will fall off as a single
piece.
This works on oil, latex and spray
paints, but it may not remove some
clear finishes like lacquer. Cooking
the hardware may stain or contaminate
the pot, so use an old one or buy
a new one for less than $20. This
method won't harm hardware made
of non-rusting metals like copper,
brass or aluminum. You'll end up
with a little rust on steel—not enough
to ruin hidden parts like hinge pins or
screws, but possibly enough to roughen
shiny surfaces. If the steel has a
plating like chrome or brass and the
plating is already flaking off, this
method will cause more flaking.
Some paints will loosen within a
couple of hours, but for best results,
plan to cook the hardware overnight.
If the paint doesn't fall off by itself,
scrub lightly with a stiff plastic brush.
The paint will harden as it cools, so
scrub the hardware as soon as you
pull it out of the water. The paint may
contain lead, so catch all the sludge
and throw it in the garbage. To clean
the metal and restore its shine, use a
metal polish like Brasso or Noxon.
