Attention to Detail

I hate brass in jewerly but absolutely love it for doorknobs, pulls, hinges and alike, especially the unvarnished ones because they get a gorgeous patina over time.

While I was waiting for paint to dry (again) I was looking for a little project to work on in the meanwhile and decided to spruce up few of the thresholds. The original wood thresholds have gotten brass reinforcements at some point and then hidden with several layers of paint over time. Since I love the brass details I wanted to try and bring them back while also painting the thresholds.

Like everything I do, I figured out what to do on the go. I first scraped off most of the paint with my trusty all-around knife while the brass bars were still screwed on so I didn’t have to hold them while scraping. I also had to dig out the paint from the flathead screws so I could actually get them out. Brass is fairly soft so I did damage some of the screws and some were too far gone anyways that I’ll have to hunt down new ones to match.

After I took out the bars I sanded down the wood to get most of the paint layers off while inspecting all the old layers since the 1950’s, fascinating stuff I tell ya! Baby pink entryway anyone?

It’s so interesting to see the old colours and while I’d like to save the layers, it’s not a good idea because I’m using pure oldschool linseed oil paint which is painted in thin layers and does not hide any uneveness in texture. I saved as much of the old paint as I could while getting a smooth surface. At least the first few layers have been done in linseed oil paint too and in very thin layers so where those haven’t fully worn off they can be left as is. Most of the houses build in early to mid 20th century have used the same colours; muted earth tones of green, brown and red, and they are very very beautiful.

Once I had gotten the brass bars off I had to figure out how to clean them up. I know you can boil brass hinges and pull in linseed soap to remove paint and not damage the brass but I couldn’t use that method here. What I did instead is I slathered the bars in linseed soap and left them to soak for two days.

After two days I decided to try what would happen if I used a heat gun on them. I basically boiled the thick soap on the surface and then scrubbed with a stiff brush. I did this twice and then rinsed off with clean water. Linseed soap leaves a thin oily recidue on the surface so it basically doables as a conditioner for the metal, win-win. I think these turned out pretty darn good in the end and well worth the hours. They look a little too clean at the moment but the patina will surely return in time.

I ended up doing three thresholds, the entryway in antique white (to match the newly painted floor) and two others inside in a custom olive green and light muted ochre colour. I know the grey and yellow disgusting plastic floors will be gone within a year so I just did one layer of colour that I can easily paint over to match the floors when I get them done.

Small changes but big impact! Now I have four more thresholds to do.