reusing porcelain door knobs
We have these old porcelain door knobs from our house. I want to reuse them if possibl with modern latches. We need to clean them of paint etc., get new door knob plates (? name – the decorative ring that sits between the knob & the door), & get new internal latches to replace the…
We have these old porcelain door knobs from our house. I want to reuse them if possibl with modern latches. We need to clean them of paint etc., get new door knob plates (? name – the decorative ring that sits between the knob & the door), & get new internal latches to replace the old bulky mechanisms.
I have a few questions:
Will boiling of the knobs work to get the paint off? If not then what?
Given we only have a few good ‘plates’, where can I get locally new ones (in brass or even paintable tin etc)?
Where can I get new internal latch mechanisms?
Will new modern design latches work with these
knobs?
What should I do on bathroom & bedrm doors where I would want a non bolt lock (something that can be unlocked from outside of rm in emergency/accidental locking by child etc)?
Is reusing these knobs a lot more work in installation than would be for modern setups such as sold by Lowes (I quite like the Gatehouse
Polished Brass Cabana Hall and Closet Knob which also has a lockable “Bed and Bath Knob” option). I have a pref to reuse old if possible but not if it involves excessive effort/cost I can’t afford…
Thanks!
olde good things, though pricey has the correct locking mechanism for these knobs as well as the little plates and larger pretty big ones as well and they are local. Also, tons of stuff on line for the actual locking/tumbler thing see Van Dyke’s Restorers as well as many others that will be listed in any type of This Old House magazine.
Your doors: if you aren’t using old doors, when you purchase new ones, DO NOT buy the ones pre-drilled for the door knob which will have a giant door know hole in them. You can drill the hole yourself (there are kits with different hole-sized type drill bits [they are circular] that work).
If for some reason you decide you don’t want the door knobs, Call me!! I’ll take them!!!
It is my understanding that lead is heavier than water and would not be carried in the steam from boiling water.
if the knobs are porcelain, then they should be fairly inert and wont absorb any of the cleaning chemicals you use to get the paint off – i say good ol’ paint thinner should take the old paint off. but i wouldnt recommend boiling them as the paint might contain lead and wiping them with a paint-thinner soaked rag is probably safer than breathing in the possibly lead-laced steam.
5F5 paint stripper might work, it works great on brass, etc but not sure about porcelain
By “modern” perhaps the original poster means door hardware that requires the big round hole in the door rather than the smaller ones that are in older doors?
If so, then no, they aren’t interchangeable with the new door hardware.
If you are re-using old doors, you can probably use the hardware you have. If you are installing new doors, you’d have to get an old style mortise to work with the old style knobs. You can find these on the internet or catalogs like Rejuvenation. Yes, they are more expensive.
Boiling will take the paint off the doorknobs very nicely. I wouldn’t submerge the mortise locks in water though.
The mortise locks should be useable if you clean the paint off of them.
Can’t speak to the locking. I can’t find a key that works in my locks so I guess Im going to add one of those cheap latches. Annoying actually but I don’t think I have a choice.
In terms of maintaining the “charm” of your home, I’d say keep the old hardware and knobs if you can. It makes a bigger difference than you may realize.
In our last apartment we used porcelain (Bennington style, the brown swirls) knobs to replace the crystal ones. It looked fantastic and got lots of compliments.
It can be done without too much effort. Your porcelain rosettes are gorgeous and unique. Don’t get rid of them!
Mortice locks are readily available, as are thumbturns. Don’t know what you mean by “modern,” since I assume these are interior doors. Besides a skeleton key (easily available) and a thumbturn, what else would you need?
You can find everything you need online, or if you have a car I’d recommend the antiques markets in Adamstown, PA, where we found a cache of old rosettes and spindles, some usable, some not. There are also TONS of old ceramic knobs, so you can probably find ones without paint.
If you want to strip the paint, just get some zipstrip or rock miracle or even soy-gel. Boiling won’t do a thing.
Since we don’t know where your house is located, it might be better asking your neighbors for local hardware store recommendations–you’ll probably be going back and forth to the hardware store a LOT, so the closer the better. FWIW I like Leopoldi’s hardware store at 5th Ave. & 7th Street in Park Slope and Hawthorne Hardware in my own neighborhood (PLG).
PS – any recommendations for good local hardware stores that could help us?