How to Strip Paint from Antique Hardware

I purchased a crock pot from a local pawn shop for $6 and placed the old hardware from the windows in the sleeping porch in it on high. 8 hours later, the paint was bubbling up and easily peeled off in large chunks. Using a brass brush, purchased from the paint section at Home Depot, I gently brushed off the remaining bits of paint.

The paint on the window latches started to bubble up after 8 hours in a crock pot

The brass brush also helped to get off some of the dirt that had accumulated on it. I was surprised to find that the hardware is copper plated, which was quite the surprise! Vintage, copper plated window latches are a rare treasure. They would have been custom ordered for the home and likely were unpolished in order to blend in with the natural tones of the wood floors.

Since the patina is coveted, and raises the value of the hardware, I elected to leave the pieces unpolished, although I did polish up the edges very lightly with some Brasso to give the pieces a slight visual depth.

The final result