What is the best way to get dried paint off of door hinges and window glass?

Question

I didn't notice this until I moved in. It seems if I try to take the doors off to remove their hinges it will damage the door. Almost all the doors and window frames were repainted, but no pains were taken to protect the surrounding surfaces.

Answer 1

Would be good if you knew what kind of paint for the door hinges. If it is Latex(water based) Laquer thinner on a Q tip will soften that paint. For oil based paints and alkyds try paint stripper. Don't use metal to scrape off the softened paint otherwise you damage the hinges.
Window glass is easy. Use a single edged razor blade. Hold it in your fingers and scrape it along the glass. (No you won't scratch the glass) - steel and glass are the same hardness. Use windex afterwards to clean your finger marks up.

Answer 2

I had to do this a few times, cleaning up after contractors and other that did not do profesional work.

On the windows, take a razor blade to scrape the paint off of the glass. This will remove most all of the dried paint. It also works well to get as close to the trim as possible. If there is some left over, take some terpentine or mineral spirits and dip a corner of a rag into it and rub on the spots that the razor could not remove. Then make sure to wash your windows and enjoy your new unrestricted view!

There are a couple of options for the door hinges.

Depending on the type of hinges there are. Like you mentioned, removing the hinges could damage the door. In that case, take an exacto knife and scrape off as much as you can and follow up by wiping it with a rag with mineral spirits (much like the windows).
Sometimes this does not work well, because the paint is either in all of the crevices in the hinges and may not be removable. You can then either just finish painting the hinges to make it look universal, or try to replace the hinges.

Hope this helps!
Good luck!

Answer 3

Use a single edge razor blade to remove from the glass-carefully of course, and vac the powder/paint shavings. For the hinges, try a non-scratch cleaning pad. Soften the paint first for a few hours or longer, with a light coating of cooking oil . If extremely hard or oil base, use low evaporation rate acetone-found in nail polish remover, in conjunction with the pad. Cover the surrounding area if there's a possibility of dripping etc. Make sure you have ventilation, when using the acetone . If possible though, try removing the hinges one at a time. Clean one, re-install etc.Do the 2nd, and so on.

Answer 4

From the glass use a razor blade, single edge. From the hinges on the doors you can not remove it will be more of a problem. Try rubbing with a sponge that is used for Teflon pan cleaning. You may want to score the paint with a razor blade so you don't damage the paint you want to save. It will be hard to do.

Answer 5

re the painted hinges and metal hardware: "cook" it in a crock pot in a mixture of water and dishwashing liquid. Just put the metal pieces in the soapy water and "cook" on high for a few hours or overnight if needed. The paint should soften and be easy to remove with cloths and brushes....just be careful of touching hot metal!

If your door has 3 or more hinges that you want to clean, just remove one hinge and clean each one separately (reinstalling each one before removing another one). This will allow you to clean the hinges without totally removing the door. If your door has only 2 hinges, you'll have to remove the door, BUT this will allow you to clean both hinges at the same time.

Answer 6

I have used a razor blade for scraping paint off window panes in the past.
Not sure about the hinges.
Ask at a paint shop - they may have some solvent or other chemical solution - such as nitromorse for removing paint.

Answer 7

buy a product called Goof Off...yeah that's the real name of it. it will remove even dried paint. got to kind of watch where and how liberally you use it though, do your best not to get it where you do not want to remove the paint.
you can use one of razor blade scrapers to get paint off glass. cut the paint along the edge of the glass with the blade though. leave just a little of the paint on the glass, it helps with the seal of it.

Answer 8

Mineral Spirits will work. You can get this at any hardware store in the paint department.

Answer 9

by the fan because the air dries up everything

Answer 10

coca cola