How to clean this iron door?

[JoceAndChris]

This used to be some kind of fire to boil water for washing clothes. The copper that came out of it (where the hob is) is in the garden.

It looks ten times better with its fresh coat of paint, and I'm now wondering how to clean up the little door. Any suggestions? I'd like it black too- grate polish?

This is what's behind the little door:

(Many would have ripped this whole thing out as it seriously compromises space in the kitchen and isn't exactly a thing of beauty, but it's interesting - I plan to put a new hob in it soon as that one's dreadful and on the left side take out that blue panel and the shelf, have more shelves put in, and doors made to turn it into a proper cupboard.)

 

[Nigel Watts]

A good rub with wire wool then some grate polish? I am glad you are keeping it.

 

[ilona73]

helloooo!!!

I too have one of these little doors under my wash tub thingymajiggle....
I think with mine i am going to give it a clean off with white spirit and very fine wire wool ... then grate polish it... it seems to be the way to go i think and i am sure it will come up just lovely.
You couldn't take it out it would be a travesty... too many people are quick to rip out the old to make way for the oh so boring new !
But thats just my opinion... i have delusions of grandeur!

 

[JoceAndChris]

OK, that sounds pretty easy and sensible - thanks, will do it now.

Thanks also for the vote of support for not ripping it out, glad you both think it justifies a very bizarre kitchen layout as we fit modernity around it. (slightly less bizarre now I'm not having to boil potatoes in one room and roast the chicken in another, since arrival of new oven!)

i have delusions of grandeur!

Hmmm, not as many as me. At least you aren't pretending a cottage is a chateau. But, hell, an Englishman's home is his castle- why not- been trawling the suits of armour websites, so tempting for the hallway.

 

[ilona73]

OK, that sounds pretty easy and sensible - thanks, will do it now.

Thanks also for the vote of support for not ripping it out, glad you both think it justifies a very bizarre kitchen layout as we fit modernity around it. (slightly less bizarre now I'm not having to boil potatoes in one room and roast the chicken in another, since arrival of new oven!)

i have delusions of grandeur!

Hmmm, not as many as me. At least you aren't pretending a cottage is a chateau. But, hell, an Englishman's home is his castle- why not- been trawling the suits of armour websites, so tempting for the hallway.

hahaha now you are talking!!!
i have been looking on ebay as well for a suit of Armour to stand by the original front door when it is all decorated!! but luckily for us one of pauls friends is very into armoury and re enacts medieval battles etc so when we are ready Gary will sort me one out !

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Excellent, you can't beat the good old-fashioned suit of armour in the hallway! I'm sure you must be able to get a little device to make it move a bit from time to time and scare your tea-party guests, what fun!

(Which reminds of a very drunken evening with friends last year around the Ouija board, during which naughty Chris slipped off and managed to get his overalls to become 3 dimensional by means of a broom and a welding mask, and erected the terrifying vision in the hallway, and came back and never said a word about it, and went Ali left the room she nearly had a heart attack! :lol: )

 

[ilona73]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Excellent, you can't beat the good old-fashioned suit of armour in the hallway! I'm sure you must be able to get a little device to make it move a bit from time to time and scare your tea-party guests, what fun!

(Which reminds of a very drunken evening with friends last year around the Ouija board, during which naughty Chris slipped off and managed to get his overalls to become 3 dimensional by means of a broom and a welding mask, and erected the terrifying vision in the hallway, and came back and never said a word about it, and went Ali left the room she nearly had a heart attack! :lol: )

Now that sounds like something my husband Paul would do!!.... he already scared my friend Anna half to death .. she came to visit just before christmas having never been to this house before and was freaked out by it anyway saying it was spooky and she kept getting lost when she came out of one room she would go the wrong way to another ..... i prefer to say our house of an evening is eerily charming!...Anyway she was on her way upstairs to the bathroom and paul switched all the lights off on her.. not knowing where she was or anything she was scared stiff because the house was pitch black... she was screaming her head off and all paul could do was sidle upstairs and make a few extra noises.....! Needless to say he had to console her with a few brandys and she hasn't let him forget it yet... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[JoceAndChris]

Oh, brilliant! :lol: Paul sounds wonderful!!

These houses have such wonderful scope for terror don't they? Hard to resist the temptation to milk that a bit. When we moved here we had some lifesize polystyrene bones from Woollies - you know the ones? Halloween decorations? - anyway, some got stored under the bed, and some in the wine cellar. Needless to say my nephew and niece found them straight away on their first visit, screamed the place down, and have never let me forget it - the first thing they always say is "have the bones gone Auntie Joce?" :lol:

 

[ilona73]

Oh, brilliant! :lol: Paul sounds wonderful!!

These houses have such wonderful scope for terror don't they? Hard to resist the temptation to milk that a bit. When we moved here we had some lifesize polystyrene bones from Woollies - you know the ones? Halloween decorations? - anyway, some got stored under the bed, and some in the wine cellar. Needless to say my nephew and niece found them straight away on their first visit, screamed the place down, and have never let me forget it - the first thing they always say is "have the bones gone Auntie Joce?" :lol:

Hahahhaha poor children you have scarred them for life!! Its a wonder they come back at all hahha
I am aspiring to the suit of armour thing in the hall way and one way or another i will get it rigged up somehow to scare some poor unsuspecting person who dares walk past it! because we are both have a wicked sense of humour! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Schoolmarm]

Is there enough room for you to lift the door off it's hinge pins? It would be loads easier to work with if it comes off.

 

[Flyfisher]

My thought exactly, 'marm. Should be a satisfyingly easy and quick job if removed. I was going to suggest a fine emery cloth if there are any stubborn bits of rust but wire wool might well do the whole job. Nice feature to retain.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Great idea - 'marm. You two might be able to get it off but I can't. B*gger. Why didn't I post this before I painted all round it please? I've now cleaned it (it's not come up that well), and because of the chemicals and all the water I'm going to have to repaint that section.

Also, I've discovered that painting F & B estate emulsion on top of plastic waterproof vinyl is far from ideal. Grrr.

 

[Flyfisher]

Joce, have you tried fully opening the door and then gently hitting it from below to lift it off those hinges? Be gentle so as not to crack the door (assuming it's cast iron). A wooden mallet would be ideal, or use a price of softwood against the door if using a steel hammer. Even a bit of 4x2 offcut or a small log might do the trick.

Or, opening and closing the door while simultaneously lifting it might gradually work the door up the hinges.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thanks FF. xx I'd like to explain why I can't lift the door off the hinges but some important technical vocabulary eludes me - there's a lump of cast iron (a nut?) that you'd need to get a spanner ( :? :? ) on to undo, which would then hack into the plaster work.

I'll speak to Chris about it over the weekend.

 

[Schoolmarm]

I can see that nut if it is the one on top of the pin on the top hinge.

 

[JoceAndChris]

You're so right - the nut on the bottom hinge is also unshiftable.

Anyway, it's not perfect (still needs re-painting around the door), but looks much much better- thanks for all the help.

 

[Nigel Watts]

Huge improvement - great job!

 

[Flyfisher]

Ah, it looked like a simple pair of pins that the door hinges were sitting on, but on squinting closer I now see what you mean.

Still, looks like you've made a big improvement anyway.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thanks chaps! The kitchen is the warmest spot, so everything is getting scrubbed and scoured and waxed down here until the weather warms up.

 

[Penners]

The door looks great now, Joce.

Just for future reference, if you have occasion to try and undo stuck nuts or bolts, give them a thorough soaking with good old WD40. Leave it for an hour or two, then repeat the process - do this several times. Then get a hefty spanner on the hex head and briefly try to tighten, rather than undo. Then try unscrewing.

I find this often works.