My latest old house pet-peeve: painted hardware. There are only two screws in this strike plate, yet someone who lived here before us was too lazy to take it off before painting the trim. I have a whole collection of these in my house along with some splotchy hinges. The hinges are a project for another day, but the strike plates could be dealt with rather swiftly.
But I didn’t feel like dragging out the stinky paint stripper and chemical resistant gloves. This strike plate wasn’t totally covered, and I knew I didn’t need something that heavy duty.
The answer was hiding in the bathroom closet. Nail polish remover!
I poured a little in a small lid and let it soak for a few minutes. The layers of paint just slid off. Be advised that it will also remove any lacquer on the metal (like that on super shiny brass).
After all the paint was gone, I rinsed it off with water and patted it dry.
p.s. I often use polish remover to get spray paint off my fingers too. Just another little tip for you.
