antique hardware

I am looking for brass sliding door cabinet tracks manufactured by Grant Pulley & Hardware Co., NY in about 1900-1905. The track is 1 1/4″ wide, and I need a 24″ length. If you have any of this track I will provide more dimensional data. Door wheels to fit the track would also be helpful.

Other useful hardware from the same company would be large cast shelf clips

Thanks,
Rich F.

If your hardware is covered in tons of paint, and you are able to remove it from the door, or wherever, get a pot you don’t care about, and boil the hardware in a solution of water and vinegar, or water and TSP (trisodium phosphate, a cleaning agent). After a couple of hours, the paint just falls off. You can then use a brass polish, or a couple of light coats of varnish to seal the metal and voila – good as new.

TSP is available at most hardware stores, especially Lowe’s and Home Depot. It is, by the way, a great cleaner for getting 50 years of grime off of almost anything – walls, floors, wood. It has slight paint removing properties, so be careful. I especially like to wash my walls with it right before painting, it cleans the dirt and grime, and sets the wall up to have the new primer or paint adhere really well.

It’s easy enough to do yourself. Can you tell me more about the hardware? Doorknobs, hinges, drawer pulls?