The Easy Way to Get Paint off of Hardware
Have you ever noticed that it’s always the little details that derail a project – like hardware or drawer pulls? I have found that I can paint a dresser, but can’t call it done because I haven’t reattached the pulls. Usually the pieces have paint caked all over them and the idea of getting it out of those crevices makes my head spin. This is the best method I’ve found to get paint off of hardware. And it doesn’t use harsh chemicals – BONUS!
Clean and sparkly after removing paint with boiling water and baking soda
We are almost done with all the new furniture pieces for my niece’s new big-girl bedroom. One coat of paint left to go on the pink details and we can call it a day. But just as we were on the final steps of deciding on whether we wanted hot pink drawer pulls or white drawer pulls, I found another task to do.
Hot pink or white drawer pulls?
We decided that the white pulls looked better, so I set off to spray paint them. Problem was that they were already thick with layers of paint and adding more would just make it more gummy feeling.
In the past, I’ve used Citristrip to remove the paint from hardware, like on this China cabinet. But I wanted to see if one of the articles I read on just using hot water and baking soda would work.
So, I plopped all 8 of the drawer pulls into my “project pot” and added water and about 1/4 cup of baking soda.
1/4 cup baking soda + water
After I put the baking soda in and it was bubbling and fizzing, I remembered that I didn’t have any “before” pics of the pulls… so I fished them out of the water…
Drawer pulls before, during and after
I was working with three different pieces of furniture, so there are three different kinds of pulls – all with varying amounts of paint on them. Those black ones in the picture above, had black over hot pink over white. And I had quickly painted one of the pulls hot pink to see how it would look, so that added yet another coat of paint to the mix.
I let them boil for about 15 minutes. By then, you could see the paint peeling away from the pulls while they sat in the pot.
The paint was just falling off the handles.
What didn’t come off on it’s own, I just peeled off. And what stuck in the corners and crevices was easily removed with a wooden shish-ka-bob skewer.
Easier than peeling an orange…
After peeling almost everything off, I got the rest of the remaining gunk off with soap and water and a toothbrush (not mine). In the end, this is how well them came out.
Clean and sparkly
Seeing how beautiful they were almost made me sad that I had to re-paint them, but those metal tones just wouldn’t work in a pink and white princess room.
I’ve read that just boiling them in water will also remove the paint just as well, but I didn’t try that out yet. You’ll let me know if you try it, won’t you?
So, this was definitely a success, and is the way I’ll be getting paint off of hardware in the future. I love it when something so simple will do the job that everyone assumes will need harsh chemical strippers.
Thanks for stopping by!
Eliesa
UPDATE: I’ve tried not using baking soda to remove the paint, and that works too! Just follow the directions above, but don’t add anything to the water – it still comes off like magic!
Liz says
August 7, 2013 at 7:48 amI was looking for an alternative to cooking them in a crock pot overnight and stumbled on your blog. When I want someone done I want it NOW not overnight. This worked perfectly and the baby blue paint fell right off of the beautiful brass drawer pulls. Thanks so much.
A Pinterest Addict says
August 7, 2013 at 11:49 amI recently tried this again with just water, and it worked! So, if you are ever out of baking soda, just use water! Thanks for letting me know that you tried it – it’s always nice to hear 🙂
Julie says
January 19, 2015 at 8:29 pmTrying it now. Bought a $5 dresser and am redoing it. Painted the hardware hot pink (another princess room!) but hated it and now they’re gummy too. Didn’t want to wait all night. We’ll see what happens! Btw, I think the hot pink pulls you had looked great!
Heather says
April 14, 2015 at 4:04 pmCan’t wait to try this – thanks so much:)
A Pinterest Addict says
May 6, 2015 at 7:44 amTry it with just water first – it works too!
Laura says
May 8, 2015 at 11:59 pmIT WORKED! The house my son purchased for me had black pull handles on the kitchen cabinets. YUCK! Some paint was peeling off of them. I was going to buy new ones until I read your story and tried. I only did six so far…but with your suggestion & a little elbow grease I was able to remove all the black paint and find sparkling new chrome handles. Thanks for saving me money!!!
Debbie Mercer says
August 24, 2015 at 5:21 pmI put my drawer handles in a pan on the stove and added baking soda , let boil for a few min. and the paint just peeled off. Loved this idea.
A Pinterest Addict says
September 6, 2015 at 10:51 amI recently tried it with just hot water, and it worked too! (in case you ever run out of baking soda and need to remove more paint! 🙂
wolffs flea market says
September 30, 2015 at 4:28 pmDoing this right now! Thanks!
A Pinterest Addict says
October 3, 2015 at 10:02 amThis is seriously the easiest way I’ve found. I don’t even add the baking soda anymore, just use plain water.
Aisha Collins says
March 13, 2016 at 5:46 pmI’m trying to redo a dresser with similar pulls. This could be a silly question, but how do you take the pulls off of the drawers?
A Pinterest Addict says
March 13, 2016 at 5:47 pmDo they have screws on the back? Just unscrew them, and they pull right off. Good luck!
Aisha Collins says
March 13, 2016 at 5:50 pmThey’re not actual screws on the back. It’s more like a hollow threaded piece.
A Pinterest Addict says
March 13, 2016 at 6:05 pmI’m sorry, I can’t say I’ve seen something like that. Can you send me a picture? eliesa@apinterestaddict dot com
dawn leach says
May 17, 2017 at 5:21 pmCan you believe that someone painted the hardware (original) on a beautiful Hoosier cabinet I just bought??!! Going to try this now!! I think they are shiny silver under the white paint:) Fingers crossed!! AND the hinges are also painted:( BIG job, but this trick will save me so much time..excited, thanks!!
GAIL says
July 16, 2017 at 2:03 pmI’m going to try this method on older (40+ years) over painted ceiling registers. I plan to perform this miracle using a disposable aluminum roasting pan set on top of the griddle burner on my house stove or my gas grill outside. I need the larger pans to accommodate the 9×9 and 12 x 12 registers and have several boiling at the same time. I have been quoted $20 a piece to have them sand blasted… they $17.00 NEW for pete’s sake. However, while I can find the larger size replacements, I can’t find the smaller sized ones. I am going to give this a try and see if I can’t save some money on an already blown renovation budget. THANKS FOR POSTING.
A Pinterest Addict says
July 16, 2017 at 2:08 pmI’ve always had great success! Good luck!
Grace says
August 21, 2017 at 2:01 amCan we use the method for iron woks or pans? If yes, how to do that? Don’t want to use harsh chemicals.
A Pinterest Addict says
December 7, 2017 at 8:32 amI don’t know if it would work for iron woks or pans… but since it can be done with just hot water, I don’t see why you couldn’t try.
Grace says
August 21, 2017 at 2:03 amCan we use the method for iron woks or pans? If yes, how to do that? Don’t want to use harsh chemicals. Thank you..
A Pinterest Addict says
August 22, 2017 at 3:23 pmDo you mean that you have paint on iron woks or pans? I’m assuming it would work the same…
Patricia says
February 6, 2018 at 12:37 pmI am retiring in a year or so and am in process of having my ‘new’ home in the South spruced up a bit. It’s a 60’s brick home and has a very cute kitchen; however, the cabinets are lacquered and the pulls and hinges are jet black. I’m having the cabinets stripped and painted and planned to buy new hardware, but decided to try removing the paint from the hardware before buying any. Brought two pulls back home with me and boiled them in water…worked like a dream! And the pulls are beautiful. Pewter with a coppery tone! Thanks so much for your suggestion! There are LOTS of cabinets in my ‘to be’ kitchen! You saved me quite a bit of money. 🙂
A Pinterest Addict says
February 16, 2018 at 9:30 amYay! Cabinet hardware gets pretty costly when you are looking to replace a lot. I love that it is relatively simple to re-use what’s there! I’d love to see pictures when it’s all done!
Nicole says
April 28, 2018 at 10:11 amI just purchased a very old & used dresser & as I began cleaning it, I started to regret buying it all together. It’s for my toddler son’s room. Anyway how ironic the draw pulls are identical to the ones you originally cleaned with baking soda & painted hot pink. I’m boiling them now as I type. I didn’t even think about repainting them but now I am. Thanks for the idea.
Dawn says
May 4, 2018 at 1:39 pmHi, Do you know if this method will work on spray paint?
A Pinterest Addict says
May 5, 2018 at 10:53 pmYes! I’ve done it a few times.