Clean Painted Hinges With No Chemicals

4 Materials
$1
15 Minutes
Easy
I had some hinges that were painted and varnished and wanted them clean. Since I'm not a fan of chemicals, I went with this simple, chemical-free option.
I grabbed a coffee can out of the recycle bin and place the hardware in the can.  Then, I sprinkled baking soda over all the pieces. No measuring, just enough to cover them. I had read about people doing this in a crockpot, but I like mine and thought a coffee can was a much better option.
I filled the kettle with water and brought it to a boil. The boiling water was poured in the can - just enough to cover everything, and the only thing left to do was wait.
After just a few minutes, I could see the boiling water and baking soda working. I donned my rubber gloves (that water was HOT) and grabbed the painted hinge.  As I rubbed my thumb over it and this is what happened:
That paint just 'melted' away...Some of the pieces just had varnish on them, but that peeled off as well.
The paint and varnish was removed, the coffee can was rinsed out and put back in the recycle bin, and no harmful chemicals were used. I call that a win all the way around, don't you?
Granted, they still needed polishing, but that's a story for another day! For more pictures, you can visit my blog listed below.
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 3 comments
  • William William on Aug 22, 2018

    Super tip. No mess, no fuss, no crock pot to clean.

  • Jan Marie Jan Marie on Aug 22, 2018

    Good job. When I stripped all my hardware I used hot water too but I had an old 1 qt pot that I put my hardware in and placed on the burner and brought to a boil, then turned off, and waited. I don't like chemicals and too many bloggers use that really strong stuff.

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