At this point, I’m getting down to the little details in the fireplace paint stripping project. For me, this is the time when the temptation to cut corners is greatest because the project’s conclusion is so tantalizingly close and deadlines loom so large.
So far I am holding firm to my commitment to get all the details right. Over the weekend I worked on one such detail that was a nice distraction from the monotony of paint removal: finishing the flue knob.
In the course of my paint stripping, I was pleased to find that the black paint on the flue knob concealed beautiful solid brass . The knob is engraved with an arrow and the word “open” indicating how to operate the flue. This, too, was a discovery, because the paint had filled in the engraving, making it unreadable before the paint stripping.
To make the knob match the dark bronze hardware in the house, I got a bottle of brass antiquing solution at a local brass specialty store. These products are available online, but the shipping/item cost ratios I found were ridiculous. I didn’t have any luck finding this at general hardware stores, either, be they big box or small corner.
After swabbing the brass with the antiquing solution a couple times, here’s the result:
I’m not sure why the brick looks washed out in the second picture, but the first photo is more representative of the brick color. The match of the flue knob to the door hardware on the bookcases alongside the fireplace is excellent. Hooray for little details!
I'm Josh and since 2005 I have shared home improvement stories and ideas from my family's Arts & Crafts bungalow in Minneapolis, MN. I'm trying to combine the best of 1923 with the best of the 21st century-- and I hope it won't take another 88 years to do it.
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I love the flue know, that’s great, so much better than the ugly chain that controls ours.