As part of a remodeling project I'm repairing and painting the doors in our 1928 house. They still have their original hardware which I believe is brass and those faceted glass doorknobs. I've buffed up one lock escutcheon to a nice shine and would like to preserve the finish. Is there some kind of spray lacquer that would work well? Or is there a better way?

Also, some of the hinges seem to have some kind of varnish and bits of old paint on them. I hit them with Safest Stripper which took care of the paint, but the yellowed, transparent varnish or whatever is is didn't come off. What might take it off without harming the metal?

And, finally, we're painting all the trim slightly-off white but the rooms will all be different colors. I wouldn't mind keeping some of the harware shiny brass and then do different patination treatments to match each other room color scheme. Are there any good on-line resources about what's possible and how to do it?

Thanks in advance for any wisdom you can share!

Mark