Furniture question. Should I paint brass plated drawer pulls or leave them alone?

[FreeBirdTim]

Getting ready to put drawer pulls back on a desk I'm refinishing. They have a nice patina, but the patina is uneven, due to wear over the years. Should I put them on the way they are or paint them with gold metallic paint?

Here's a few pics. You guys will decide it for me. Thanks!

 

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[1shotwade]

Not me! I'd leave them alone.

Wade

 

[CincinnatiKid]

I like antique furniture as is, drawer pulls included.
If furniture isn't valuable, sure make a project of it.
As for the drawer pulls, try a light polish first. If you don't like the results, then paint.
GL
Peace ✌

 

[SusanMN]

The wear is part of the charm of original hardware. I would never paint it!

 

[aa battery]

its up to you. Do what makes you happy as long as the piece is not rare that will bring down the value.

 

[Keppy]

It is up to you to make your own mind up we can not decide what is best for you . That is for you to do..

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Thanks for all the advice, guys. A big problem I didn't consider is that the rest of the brass plated hardware (hinges and small drawer knobs) were trashed, so I painted them. Now I guess I'm forced to paint the drawer pulls so everything matches. Either that or look for vintage hinges and drawer knobs for a 1930's Governor Winthrop desk. Not easy to find those anywhere.

When I finish working on the desk in a day or so, I'll post pictures of the finished product. I guess it's probably going to end up with shiny drawer pulls! I'll have to live with it for now. Thanks again for the input.

 

[SusanMN]

It is very easy to remove paint from brass and other metal. Just pull off the hardware and drop it into boiling water and let it sit a bit. The paint sloughs right off. This works even on hardware that has layers and layers of paint on it.

Your finish looks awesome, by the way.

 

[cw0909]

is that a cloth rub finish, it dosent look brushed
nice job

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Your finish looks awesome, by the way

Thanks! I applied two coats of red mahogany stain and three coats of glossy polyurethane.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

is that a cloth rub finish, it dosent look brushed
nice job

I applied the stain with a foam brush and then rubbed the excess off with an old T-shirt. For the polyurethane, I used a foam brush as well and sanded with 220 grit sandpaper between coats.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Here's a couple of photos of the finished desk. I wish I had taken some "before" photos. It was in really rough shape. Too many years in a hot attic dried it out. The old finish was flaking off and the wood was bone dry. Came out pretty nice, but I must have put in at least 20 hours on it!

 

[SusanMN]

Just beautiful. I refinished a slant front, pigeon hole desk a few years back, under it's black ebonized finish, I found stunningly beautiful Birdseye maple. The outside wasn't so bad, but doing those little inside cubbies just about drove me crazy.

i don't know if you have a key for yours, but I visited an antique store and they were kind enough to allow me to take home a handful to find a fit and return the rest.

 

[pepperj]

Great look to the finished product, and I'd leave it as is with the handles. 20hrs into the project or is that just into the finish part? Wood and doing a finish is a labour of love sometimes, had a trawler with a teak deck and cap and hand rails. I lost count but it was between 500-600 hrs of restoration work and it showed well, but I'd never do it again.

 

[coinman123]

It came out nice! I'm impressed. Any ideas on the age of that drawer?

 

[aa battery]

very nice

 

[FreeBirdTim]

i don't know if you have a key for yours, but I visited an antique store and they were kind enough to allow me to take home a handful to find a fit and return the rest

I do have the key, but thanks for that suggestion! I never would have thought of that idea

 

[FreeBirdTim]

It came out nice! I'm impressed. Any ideas on the age of that drawer?

Thanks! The desk was made by the Skandia Furniture Co. of Rockford, Illinois. They changed the name to the Rockford Furniture Co. in 1941, so it's probably from the 1930's.

It was originally owned by my grandmother and was passed down to my father when she died in 1992. I inherited it in 2008, after my dad died. I'd love to keep it, but I may have to give it to my brother or sell it. We have five cats, so I know they'll scratch it up the second it enters the house! It would kill me to have it trashed after all the work I did on it. I'll leave it in my garage for now until I decide what to do with the desk.

 

[Jem13]

Very beautiful piece! Excellent job you did!