Painting Hinges Works if You Prepare Them First
Question: In painting our kitchen and bathrooms, I had planned on painting the hinges to the cabinet doors when I painted the cabinets, but friends have said that painted hinges never look good over time. How can I do it like a professional job?
T.R.
Anaheim
Answer: “If the hinges have been painted before, you may need to remove and sand them, or dip them in paint remover to get rid of any old paint,” says Joe Ragsdale of Color Center in La Mirada. “Once that’s done and you’ve washed them, coat them with a thin coat of metal primer. After that, you can apply your top coat. Any problems usually are caused by putting too thick a coat on the hinges, causing chipping when the hinge is moved. Concentrate on putting on as thin a coat as possible.”
Q: We have a large oak tree in our back yard that has roots that are pushing up the concrete patio around it. We’re concerned about someone tripping over the cracks for a party we’re planning in August, but we don’t want to spend a lot of money redoing the concrete. Is there a temporary solution to the problem?
C.B.
Los Alamitos
A: “You can try filling the cracks with concrete patch,” says contractor Dave Amadio of Cypress. “Mix it in a bucket and lay it down to smooth out the surface. But after a few months, you’ll probably notice cracks in the patch and eventually they’ll be even more cracks as the roots get bigger. Ideally, you’ll want the roots cut back and the concrete re-laid to make that area safe. If you don’t want to go through the expense right now, you might go ahead and patch it. Then, just to be safe, for your party block the area off with tables or chairs to keep people away.”
Q: The last time I did some minor electrical wiring in one of our bathrooms, the electrical tape I used was difficult to handle, it stretched and left most of the adhesive on my hands or on the walls. Is there a better tape?
G.F.
Huntington Beach
A: “It sounds as though you were using some cheap plastic tape,” says Steven Sheilds, an electrician from Brea. “Some of these bargain-basement tapes are no better than if you just tied two wires together and left them. You should try an electrical supply store and get some good professional tape. You might pay a little more, but the job you do will be better and safer.”
Q: Our bathrooms have white ceramic tile that has developed a strange orange-colored film in the showers. None of my efforts to get it off have succeeded, and I don’t want to use anything toxic like acid. Any suggestions?
G.G.
Fullerton
A: “This is often a sign of water mineral deposits,” says plumber Ed Jacobs of Mission Viejo. “The deposits have attached themselves over time to your tile, and as more and more water goes past them, they collect more deposits. You might want to try a homemade remedy like a solution of vinegar and water. With a sponge, rub the vinegar into the area; wait, then wash it off. Often, the vinegar is able to loosen the grip the minerals have on the surface.”
Q: Last year we bought some expensive semi-gloss paint for our kitchen, and on the label of the can it said it was scrubable. However, when I’ve had to remove stains with a sponge, the gloss comes off. Is the problem me or the paint?
T.W.
Lake Forest
A: “It may be a little of both,” says house painter Roger Elkhart of Santa Ana. “When you say you use a sponge, are you using a ‘scrubbing’ sponge with a nylon pad attached? If that’s the case, very few paints can endure that kind of treatment without some loss of finish. I’m assuming it’s a latex-based paint, which isn’t going to have as strong a finish as an alkyd or oil-base. Always use a soft sponge when cleaning, along with some soap to soften and remove the stain.”
