The doors in my Victorian flat have 4" steel hinges on all doors .I always wondered if these should be painted or just left alone .I don't suppose it matters as the flat part is mostly unseen but it's more relevant for the knuckle part ...but they could rust I suppose..Any thoughts.??
Stuart
It would be a damp flat if they wereto rust. Most steel hinges I've seen have been painted; the flat part gets painted with the door so leaving the other part unpainted get a bit fiddly. Personally I prefer brass hinges - unpainted.
Normally painted if steel. Brass can look nice left.
They'll be cast iron if original. Last about 10 times as long as brass. Yes paint them but make sure theyre free moving first (oil) and that there is not a big build up of paint layers on the hinge faces as this can eventually stop them closing properly and they start pulling out.
cheers
Jacob
| Stuart wrote: | > The doors in my Victorian flat have 4" steel hinges on all doors .I | > always wondered if these should be painted or just left alone .I don't | > suppose it matters as the flat part is mostly unseen but it's more | > relevant for the knuckle part ...but they could rust I suppose..Any | > thoughts.?? | | It would be a damp flat if they wereto rust. Most steel hinges I've seen | have been painted; the flat part gets painted with the door so leaving | the other part unpainted get a bit fiddly. Personally I prefer brass | hinges - unpainted.
Getting the screws with painted heads out is a bit of a pain.
Get a life?
They ought to be. They ought to be cast iron, if original.
I'd have thought wrought iron rather than cast.
Cast iron butt hinges were invented over two hundred years ago.
On 21 Sep 2005, DJC wrote
Seconded.
Treat the hinge as a consistent item of door furniture. Either entirely paint it with the door ("here be part of door"), or entirely non-paint it with the door -- whether brass or a different colour -- as in "here be hinge".
Half-and-half looks like you can't decide....
While not traditional, the method I prefer is to shellac the hinges. In case your flat is damp, or in damp areas (say a bathroom), this keeps the hinges from rusting while only minimally changing the appearance. You can shellac the screw heads separately if you like to keep them from sticking.
Michael
And still being used as standard in the late 1920's when my house was built (and yes they do crack apart occasionally so you can see they are cast)
Bob Mannix
And only just started to be unavailable. I completely failed to get some proper traditional 4 inch butts recently and could only get "antique" black finished imitations - i.e. are cast iron, expensive but badly made and loose fitting. Just another example of the process whereby excellent traditional stuff becomes unavailable and is replaced by modern crap.
cheers Jacob
I tried to find some, too - similar results, nothing to be found. Some pointers from this NG led to the crap you mention below! I wonder whether the Chinese might start making them?
What's the best replacement? Cast brass/washered? Any joy from these below, which I've just "Googled", for "cast iron butt hinge", but haven't tried?
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