Hello! Im back again with another post about restoring old hardware.
Im currently remodeling my bathroom and one of the things I love most about our house is the vent covers. They are unique, and one of a kind. In addition to not being able to find this exact size of covers anywhere in stores right now, they also just don’t make them cool like these.
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The only downside is the previous owner painted over them with the same color that is on the walls. It was caked on it SEVERAL layers indicating that it had been painted and re-painted for years and years.
I was determined to restore them. Here are the materials I used:
Materials
- Ready Strip Gel Stripper
- Sunnyside Acetone or varnish remover
- A nylon or wire bristle brush
- paper towel
- flat razor paint and window scraper
- Rust Reformer Spray Paint from Rustoleum
Step 1: Apply Stripping agent
I have removed old paint from several different kind of things ranging from furniture to hardware. I love using acetone, and soaking the metal pieces in the acetone. It is by far the cleanest and easiest way to remove paint. It literally eats away at the paint, and there is no scrubbing needed.
The only issue with this is acetone is kinda spendy, and unless you buy a lot of it, and have a tub to pour it in, that will also fit the piece you are removing paint from in it… it isn’t practical by itself.
Enter the paint stripper gel. I love this stuff. I used it on a chair transformation earlier this year, and it is so low odor, I did it in my living room.
Sure it still had a little smell to it, but nothing like other paint stripping varnish removers I have used in the past. I also think it works a ton better than the citristrip, which, actually smells quite pleasant… but IMO isn’t nearly strong enough most of the time.
This stuff has a gel like consistency which is nice, since it doesn’t really ‘drip.’ You can apply it using a paint brush with bristles.**
** Don’t use a foam brush. The chemicals will just eat through the sponge and you will just end up with pieces of sponge all over your project.
Use a thick layer and then wait about 5-10 minutes. You should see the paint start to crackle, bubble and rise off of the piece.
Step 2: Wipe, Wipe, Wipe
In this step you can either use paper towels, or a wire/ nylon brush to help remove. I used both. I like the nylon brush since it doesn’t scratch the surface I am working on, but it still has some grip to it. I scrubbed and scrubbed, and scrubbed, I dipped the brush in a small bucket of acetone in between scrubs to help get the gunk off the brush. I also had an old towel on hand that I wiped everything on. Paper towels work great too.
Step 3: Wash and repeat
After I did an initial layer of the ready strip, most of the paint came off. Not all of it though. So for the remaining paint I did another layer of the ready strip. I waited 5-10 minutes and then scrubbed using the nylon brush again.
After this I washed in the yard using a hose, and used the brush to clean up any other paint chips, and gunk. The nice thing about this paint stripper, is the easy water cleanup after. I could just wash out the paint brush I used to apply it, and it came out no problem.
Step 4: Scrap any cracks
This piece of metal is old. There was some small cracks on the back, and rust. I used the nylon brush to really get it clean. I used the razor blade paint scraper to get into the smaller cracks and remove any paint hanging out in there.
Step 5: Re-paint
In the step I chose to repaint the cover. I know this might seem counter intuitive since I just spent all that time removing paint, but the metal under the paint wasn’t in the best shape, and it needed something. Some of the spots had rusted too. I chose a spray paint that would cover the rust and give me nice color.
I applied two even coats, spray side to side in long sweeping movements to make sure there wasn’t any spots that got sprayed to heavily and would create a build up drip spot. I love the matte sheen it dries with, and the coverage is amazing.
And thats it! I can’t wait to install it in my bathroom after we drywall and paint! Tune back in to see how the bathroom is going with the 8 week update coming tomorrow!
-Amanda