Decorating question: to paint or not to paint hardware

Posted by on June 15, 2006, 2:23 am

Hi,

1. I'm repainting my door. The previous owner had painted the hinges
and the little slide lock white along with the door. I think it's lame.
Am I right? Those pieces should shine in their brass or copper or
bronze beauty, no?

2. I'm repainting my wrought iron banister. The previous owner had
selected a swampy diarrheal darkish green with a shade of yellowish
puke. And also painted the screwes that by which the banister is fixed
to the floor. I think that those too should show naturally, but here
I'm not so sure. Could leaving them unpainted, which in this case would
amount to replacing them, lead to an undesirable industrial look. Or
will it, as I hope, look cool?

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron Fude

Posted by m Ransley on June 15, 2006, 7:30 am

The hardware could be rusted or tarnished so paint just covers it up,
removing and cleaning it could be a job, even then , if there is rust or
tarnish paint might be the best option

Posted by on June 15, 2006, 7:44 am

aaronfude@gmail.com wrote:

> 1. I'm repainting my door. The previous owner had painted the hinges
> and the little slide lock white along with the door. I think it's lame.
> Am I right? Those pieces should shine in their brass or copper or
> bronze beauty, no?

My previous owner had done the same thing throughout the house, on both
doors and windows. I'm now in the process of either stripping all this
paint or (more often) just replacing the hardware.

I would say never paint door or window hardware. It's not meant to be
painted and definitely doesn't need it to extend life. These are all
finished pieces as is. I think painting them is poor from a design
standpoint and also just looks sloppy, because it's obvious that
whoever did the painting just didn't go to the trouble to either cover
up or remove the hardware when they painted.

> 2. I'm repainting my wrought iron banister. The previous owner had
> selected a swampy diarrheal darkish green with a shade of yellowish
> puke. And also painted the screwes that by which the banister is fixed
> to the floor. I think that those too should show naturally, but here
> I'm not so sure. Could leaving them unpainted, which in this case would
> amount to replacing them, lead to an undesirable industrial look. Or
> will it, as I hope, look cool?

This is a tougher one. I'd probably paint the screws. It depends on
what they actually look like in relation to the iron bannister.

I think it comes down to whether the screws look they're part of the
structure of the bannister or not, and whether they're the same
material (obviously they're not iron screws, but they are metal). It
would be different if you had a wood bannister with brass screws or
something. But you can always try it unpainted and see; screws don't
cost much.

Posted by Richard Thoms on June 15, 2006, 9:12 am

aaronfude@gmail.com wrote:

Painting the hardware was done, probably just being lazy! If you've got
the time and the gumption then it would definitely look better to either
strip the paint or replace the hardware. Check with you're local paint
shop to see if they have a good recommendation for how to strip the
paint without damaging the hardware. Otherwise you may end up buying
more hardware. Buying hardware is easier solution because you're going
to have to remove the old anyway whether you strip or replace.

You should work for the companies that name the paint shades. I always
wonder who can come up with those names. "Gobi Desert" is what my house
is painted with.

IMHO wrought iron should be black. And in this case I would paint the
screws/hardware so you have a nice clean look.

--
_____________________________________________________________________
Richard Thoms
President - Top Service Pros, Inc.
Connecting Homeowners and Local Home Service Professionals

Homeowners, Find a Top Service Pro --> http://www.TopServicePros.com
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Posted by Norminn on June 15, 2006, 9:27 am

aaronfude@gmail.com wrote:

> Hi,
>
> 1. I'm repainting my door. The previous owner had painted the hinges
> and the little slide lock white along with the door. I think it's lame.
> Am I right? Those pieces should shine in their brass or copper or
> bronze beauty, no?
>

If you can take them apart, strip them, polish and spray with clear
laquer. Do not touch with bare hands after polishing. If they are
brass plated junk, replace them. Brass shines up very nicely, and paint
remover won't hurt it.

Might rust if not coated. Strip and clear coat with matte or gloss,
your pref.

>
> Many thanks in advance!
>
> Aaron Fude
>

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