When changing the hardware in your home from brass to brushed nickel, you can remove the finish on plated brass door hinges to give them the look of brushed nickel without having to buy new hinges. Here’s how.
How to Remove Brass Finish on Door Hinges
- Remove the plated brass hinges from the door.
- Use the wire wheel on a bench grinder to remove the plated finish from the hinges.
- Spray the metal hinges with two coats of clear acrylic finish to keep the hinges from rusting.
Watch the video above to find out more.
Video Transcript
Joe Truini: I’m remodeling a bathroom. I’m switching over all the fixtures and fitting from polished brass to brushed nickel.
But rather than buy all new door hinges, I simply removed the hinges from the door jamb, and I’m going to use a bench grinder and a wire wheel to buff off the brass finish.
It takes about four or five minutes to get all the finish off. But I’ll show you after just a few seconds how the finish—the brass finish—is off, and you’re starting to get down to the bare metal.
Here’s a hinge leaf I did earlier. The brass is completely gone. I didn’t bother doing the backside, because that’s going to go against the mortise on the jamb.
But when you’re done with getting all the brass off, then you get a clear coat of acrylic. Spray on two coats to prevent them from rusting.
And when you’re done with the hinge leaves, don’t forget you have to clean up the heads of each hinge pin as well.
Further Information
- Hinge Pin Door Repair (video)
- Loose Door Hinge Repair Tip (video)
- How to Fix Squeaky Door Hinges (video)
- How to Cut Mortises for Door Hinges (video)
