apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Any tips for getting paint off a porcelain bathroom sink and knobs? My painter left little splashes of it everywhere, and it isn't washing off. Thanks!

If it's latex paint, some "Oops!" should get it off; meanwhile, that's basically lighter fluid, so if you smoke, you may have some of THAT!

Otherwise, if you have any nail polish remover, that should probably work, too. Although, off the top of my head, I can't promise you that that wouldn't take off whatever top-coat sealer stuff that might be on top of the brass of your knobs, if there is any.

You COULD use a little paint stripper and just wipe it kind of quickly, although it will stink really bad for a minute. I would follow that up with running some water, just to neutralize it, afterwards, though. BUT... do NOT let the paint stripper get anywhere near anything that has been "re-glazed" be it sink, tub or tile, because "re-glazing" is basically just paint, and even though it tends to be epoxy paint, which seems eternally durable, paint stripper absolutely WILL ruin it.

But really... questions are for the Open Threads, not here. This space is for tips that you have.

My largest frustration with hanging frames on the wall isn't getting them level anymore.
There is a growing amount of frames that have hooks on either side of the frame for extra support.
Instead of having to dig out a tape measure and pencil to mark off the space between the holes, so you know where to sink your screws, nails, exc... all you need... is masking tape.
Just tear off a piece that goes from hole to hole (or hook to hook) on the back of your photo and stick it to the wall.
You will know to sink your screws/nails exactly at the corner, and there are no pencil lines to erase!
It pulls off easy when you are ready to move your photo, and I even stick the piece to the back of my frame if we are moving, or changing locations of the frames. That way the work is already done for me!

IKEA furniture that has a real wood veneer can be painted easily, and with great results.

I had an old LACK shelf (oak veneer) that I hadn't had up in years, and over the weekend I gave painting it a try.

* fill any areas where the veneer has chipped with wood filler
* lightly sand the entire piece
* two coats of primer (I like Zinsser 1-2-3)
* two coats of paint (I used BM washable flat in the same color as my walls)
* use a small FOAM roller for best results!

The look is much better than the colored (white, green, etc) shelves they sell. The texture of the wood is still faintly visible, and I was able to get the precise color/finish I wanted to match the wall perfectly.

Oops...good point, Curtis. Thanks for the great tips!

Jan Brady,
Have you tried a razor blade? Or if that sounds too scary... a rubber or plastic scraper.

Works for me.

Janbrady--

Is it oil based or latex? If the latter, heat the spot by pressing a wet cloth that's been heated in the microwave on it, and it will peel off. (Use tongs when removing the cloth from the microwave!)

Sarahrae that is QUITE clever! This would work well for hanging a wall ledge/shelf, too.

It does work well for wall shelves... and it's easy since you can usually put a roll on your wrist and you don't have to worry about where your husband hid the tape measure!

When washing your fridge this week, try one of my grandma's tip:

Wash it thouroughly and when you are done, you go over the interior of your fridge with a solution of water almond extract (4tbsp of almond extract for about 1 liter water )

It will make your fridge smell clean and fresh for many days and it seems to absorb odors as well.

thanks, sarahrae. i usually get a piece of paper & trace over the hook or hole areas (depending if i'm hanging a picture or shelf), then put the paper up where i want the object to be and mark the hook/hole again. if it seems complicated, it is and i often screw it up. i've got a new paper towel holder i want to mount under a kitchen cabinet, and this is *perfect* for it.

Thanks Emm, I was just about to check with everyone and see what they were using for the fridge. I love the smell of almond extract. I'm thinking maybe to add some lemon to your gram's mixture and use some to make a paste with baking soda and the rest to wipe it out after the baking soda scrub. Of course, this process will probably prompt me to bake a cake!

Martha Stewart advises vanilla extract on a cotton ball. Leave it on a dish in the fridge to absorb odors. I thought it worked pretty well. But my fridge doesn't smell.

I was installing some blinds in the windows of a client's pre-war apartment the other day, and noticed that the window-sills were Corian!

I asked them and they said that the windowsills had been horrible, so they had a contractor change out all the windowsills like that. It was nice, neat, and it fit perfectly with the color they had painted the rest of it.

The only downside would be if they ever changed the color of the paint on the rest of the window frames.

Anyway... so that's a great way to permanently deal with horrible old windowsills.

Emmm,
Great tip. I just recently bought a condo with the most rancid refrigerator. The previous owner had left in turned off for about 8 months. We are planning to redo the kitchen but in the mean time have no choice but to use the gross fridge. We (and when I say we I mean my Mom) were able to scrub off almost all of the mold but it could definitely use some more freshening up. I'm definitely going to try your tip this weekend.

if you hate the look of contemporary cordless phones, a cute alternative can be found at Target - it reminds me of the telephone we had when I was a kid.

Curtis, I saw another take on that in a neighbor's apartment. She had glass cut to place on top of the sills after they were freshly painted. It makes them so much easier to clean, and unlike corian it doesn't matter what color the surroundings are.

Anna at D16-

Thanks for the great post. Have you ever tried painting vintage wood-veneer furniture? I bought a vanity that I would love to paint in a high-gloss, but I'm a little scared to get started.

Any tips would be welcome.

Thanks,

Aria

A great way to absorb odors in the fridge is put coffee beans on a small dish and leave it there a few days. I also do this in my car a small amount of beans in a brown paper bag.
I think I read this from Martha years ago, and it works.