How to remove paint from door hinges without removing them

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mdav056

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#2532463 31-Jul-2020 22:00

Technofreak:

gzt: Love the paint the rest of the hinge suggestion. Genuine pro tip I mean it!

Stripper and a tiny paint brush and optional masking could be an option if you have the patience and no foot traffic. It will be quick if not entirely risk free.

Take one hinge off and buy a box of new hinges or at least enough to do one door at a time if they are all the same. Replace one hinge at a time. That's the part where you discover the previous installer or renovator has stripped or oversized the holes and it's just hanging on...

There's several fixes for that too. There's products out there where you can plug the oversized hole with a two part "putty" that hardens quite quickly. Araldite will do as well.

Put the putty into the hole making sure you fill the hole pretty well, once the putty has hardened place the hinge back in place, mark and drill the hole and fit a new screw. Easy. Sometimes it is easier to get the putty into the hole by drilling the hole to a much larger diameter prior to trying to fill with putty.

I just fill the stripped holes with wood glue and bang in a matchstick or two...and cut off with a chisel when set

gml

eracode

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#2532489 1-Aug-2020 01:36

Technofreak:

gzt: Love the paint the rest of the hinge suggestion. Genuine pro tip I mean it!

Stripper and a tiny paint brush and optional masking could be an option if you have the patience and no foot traffic. It will be quick if not entirely risk free.

Take one hinge off and buy a box of new hinges or at least enough to do one door at a time if they are all the same. Replace one hinge at a time. That's the part where you discover the previous installer or renovator has stripped or oversized the holes and it's just hanging on...

There's several fixes for that too. There's products out there where you can plug the oversized hole with a two part "putty" that hardens quite quickly. Araldite will do as well.

Put the putty into the hole making sure you fill the hole pretty well, once the putty has hardened place the hinge back in place, mark and drill the hole and fit a new screw. Easy. Sometimes it is easier to get the putty into the hole by drilling the hole to a much larger diameter prior to trying to fill with putty.

The word ‘putty’ may cause a problem for the uninitiated in this context of joinery. The stuff you are referring to is epoxy filler - often sold as ‘builders bog’ for this type of job.

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eracode

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#2532537 1-Aug-2020 07:02

gzt:

Take one hinge off and buy a box of new hinges or at least enough to do one door at a time if they are all the same. Replace one hinge at a time.

And just throw the old hinges away because it’s too much bother to clean the paint off them? Not sure that’s a great idea. If the hinges are coming off, just clean and put ‘em back on.

Also, if the hinges are old, it may be unlikely that new ones will fit exactly - which could lead to significantly more work getting the new ones to fit.

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Journeyman

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#2532602 1-Aug-2020 11:33

I think removing the hinges is unnecessary. Just mask around the hinges, apply the gel stripper with a small brush and wait a few minutes. It won't take long for the paint to bubble up and you can just supervise the door if you're worried about someone messing it up. The only thing with paint stripper is that it has a powerful smell and feels like it's burning the inside of your nose.

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#2532625 1-Aug-2020 12:26

andrewNZ:

Knock out the hinge pins with the door closed, then carefully open and remove the door.

Many hinges don’t have removable pins - and the ones in the OP’s photos look as if they don’t.

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mdf

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#2534307 4-Aug-2020 10:37

Don't use builders bog or putty to repair a hinge screw hole. While some can be plenty strong, it's really hard to get a decent amount in to a screw hole - mostly you just end up with a veneer of filler with nothing behind it. Fine if you're filling a hole for visual purposes, but not great if you're re-drilling for a new screw hole. You can get injection epoxy that works, but my usual approach is to bore the hole out to about 6mm and hammer in a dowel that you then cut flush. Buy the dowel first and drill your hole to match rather than vice versa.

To the OP, if you have 3 hinges, you will likely be fine taking off one at a time. But sticking wedges under the door from either side to hold it in position will help you refit the hinge anyway so not a bad idea generally. If you've only got two hinges, you probably need someone to stand there holding the door while one is off.

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Shanemc

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#2535050 5-Aug-2020 12:39

Have just redone all the hinges in our house. Previous owners had repainted a few times - all over the hinges. We decided to get the doors properly sanded and sprayed. Removed all hinges and replaced with stainless steel ones. A more modern look. The paint over the screws was a bit of a hassle, needed a large needle to pick it out so a screw driver could grip. The old brass screws are pretty soft and easily threaded. Anyway new hinges were about $3 each. No issues with the fit, all fitted perfectly. House was 80's though, so older might be an issue.

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