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

I used a product called Nioxin for the brass cleaning with some 0000 steel wool. I also soaked them in lime away and hot water for a while, this seemed to clean the crystal knobs really well. I used a single razorblade to scrape off the stuff I could not get off with steel wool on parts like the strikers and hinges. You can use spray laquer to preserve, but it will yellow over time. Check out my pics:

Sorry, I can't get them any larger without distorting them.