Restoring your old hardware to its former glory is so simple! I recently read about a cleaning product that does the job in minutes. It's called Bar Keepers Friend Cleanser & Polish. I'll tell you what... the company should think about advertising to DIYers, because it is amazing. I honestly didn't expect it to work. I've tried several different methods in the past and this is the only one that I will ever use again.
Step-by-Step Process:
1. Remove all your hardware and rinse it off. (If you have hardware that's been painted, you can use my Removing Paint from Old Hardware method to clean off the paint before restoring the shine.)
1. Remove all your hardware and rinse it off. (If you have hardware that's been painted, you can use my Removing Paint from Old Hardware method to clean off the paint before restoring the shine.)
2. Sprinkle the Bar Keepers Friend on your damp hardware piece.
3. Use an old toothbrush to scrub the cleaner into all the cracks and crevices of your hardware. Let it set a little and lather it as best you can. I did the front and back of each piece.
4. Rinse everything and pat it dry with a paper towel.
That's it! The cleaner really gets all the gunk off and shines everything up like new.
For this particular piece of hardware, I decided to restore the handles on my newly acquired French provincial dresser.
For this particular piece of hardware, I decided to restore the handles on my newly acquired French provincial dresser.
Worked like a charm! I am so in love with it I can't even stand it. SO glad I didn't decide to spray paint the handles like I originally wanted to.