Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

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tenkuky
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Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by tenkuky »

We are painting our front door. It has a brass kickplate.
Options:
1. Just remove the kickplate and fill in the screw holes and paint the door. No more kickplate!
2. Leave the kickplate brass (remove to paint and then reattach).
3. Paint the kickplate same color as door (using a versatile paint that adheres to all surfaces).

Has anyone dealt with this and what did you choose?
PS: Hardware is also brass and we are not changing that as it would entail changing out the inside set and then most of the house that matches. Project for another day.

Thanks!
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galawdawg
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by galawdawg »

tenkuky wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 6:55 am We are painting our front door. It has a brass kickplate.
Options:
1. Just remove the kickplate and fill in the screw holes and paint the door. No more kickplate!
2. Leave the kickplate brass (remove to paint and then reattach).
3. Paint the kickplate same color as door (using a versatile paint that adheres to all surfaces).

Has anyone dealt with this and what did you choose?
PS: Hardware is also brass and we are not changing that as it would entail changing out the inside set and then most of the house that matches. Project for another day.

Thanks!
If the brass kickplate looks attractive with the style of the house and door (traditional classic colonial house with six panel solid-wood door painted in a conservative color), I'd recommend you remove the brass kickplate, paint the door, polish up the kickplate and reinstall. Polish the entry hardware and knocker (if you have one) and it will lookk spectacular! Something like the below is what I envision:

Image
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Raymond
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by Raymond »

In your position, I would do either #1 or #2.

In my opinion, #3 would look ridiculous.
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bob60014
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by bob60014 »

Replace the brass, anything else will look tacky and/or incomplete.
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Sandtrap
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by Sandtrap »

Remove kickplate.
Do an excellent paint job.
Install "new" kickplate.

j :D
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retiringwhen
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by retiringwhen »

Sandtrap wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 7:45 am Remove kickplate.
Do an excellent paint job.
Install "new" kickplate.

j :D
I did this and it was by far the least amount of work and it made the door look almost new again (well 10 years later, it is awful, but it did look good for a 6 or 7 years :beer )

BTW,I also replaced the door hardware as well to get a nice clean new look.
Jeepergeo
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by Jeepergeo »

I never really saw the need for a kick plate on a residential door. My door is 30 years old and was painted once in that time. It has no kick plate, nor does the door's condition suggest that one is needed.

Do people really use their foot on the door, thus the name and purpose of that plate?
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goingup
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by goingup »

Sandtrap wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 7:45 am Remove kickplate.
Do an excellent paint job.
Install "new" kickplate.

j :D
Yes! My recommendation, too.

Recently stripped and stained our big old front door. Added new black hardware and a new black kick plate. Good update.
Mr. Rumples
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by Mr. Rumples »

Depends on your goal: function, aesthetics or historical accuracy. For the former take note of how often its used; some folks need one if their hands are full, but it doesn't protect from strollers or dog scratches further up. The second is simply if one likes the look and doesn't mind one more thing to clean and polish. Historically, they were not used: Mt. Vernon (Washington), Gunston Hall (Mason), Hamilton Grange (Hamilton) &c. did not have them.
Last edited by Mr. Rumples on Mon Jul 26, 2021 9:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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oldcomputerguy
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by oldcomputerguy »

We used to have a polished brass kickplate on our front door. For some reason, after having lived there for years, the local birds suddenly became confused and started attacking their reflections in the brass. :annoyed

We removed the kickplate the last time we had the house painted.
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Mr. Rumples
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by Mr. Rumples »

oldcomputerguy wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 9:54 am We used to have a polished brass kickplate on our front door. For some reason, after having lived there for years, the local birds suddenly became confused and started attacking their reflections in the brass. :annoyed

We removed the kickplate the last time we had the house painted.
Some birds like red cardinals are notorious for attacking their reflection: they are territorial and think it's an adversary.
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quantAndHold
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by quantAndHold »

What does the door look like underneath the kickplate?

Ours has a brass kickplate which is gaudy looking and not historically appropriate on the 1920’s house (shiny brass, when all the door and window hardware has a dark patina), but when I removed it, I realized it was there because the bottom of the door is in poor condition. I suspect that’s why a lot of kickplates are where they are. I painted it black, to match the black wrought iron that’s everywhere else. At least it isn’t so noticeable anymore.

The other option for us would be to either replace the original door with something that would cause us to lose our historic designation, or get an expensive custom made reproduction.

As for your door, if the door underneath is in good shape, I would remove it. If not, it kind of depends on what would look good. I doubt that painting it the door color would look all that spiffy.
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tenkuky
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by tenkuky »

Thanks to all for great insights!
Step 1: check the condition underneath the kickplate. If poor, keep kickplate. If not, go on to Step 2.
Step 2: see if we like the door painted without kickplate. Re. functionality, yeah doggie likes to scratch much higher near the doorknob :oops: and we never kick the front door anyway (I doubt UPS or Amazon do either).
Step 3: If we can like without it and it looks fine, great. If not, consider a new kickplate (less desired) or clean/polish but NOT PAINT the old one.
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Doom&Gloom
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by Doom&Gloom »

Mr. Rumples wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 9:57 am
oldcomputerguy wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 9:54 am We used to have a polished brass kickplate on our front door. For some reason, after having lived there for years, the local birds suddenly became confused and started attacking their reflections in the brass. :annoyed

We removed the kickplate the last time we had the house painted.
Some birds like red cardinals are notorious for attacking their reflection: they are territorial and think it's an adversary.
I thought I was the only one with this issue. Some years our cardinals apparently use our kickplate as a preening mirror--in the process they occasionally leave a deposit on the step. Some years they don't seem to bother to visit at all.

The problem with the kickplate was much easier to solve than their perching on the outside mirrors of my car in the driveway :annoyed

As to OP: I would replace the kickplate and paint the door.
goaties
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by goaties »

There's a product called Brasso which does a pretty good job cleaning up old brass and other metals (does a great job on old stainless steel sinks). Its odor suggests it might be rather toxic: use it outdoors and wear disposable gloves. It's a cheap way of maybe reviving your old kickplate again.
Mr. Rumples
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by Mr. Rumples »

Yes, Brasso is a great product for many items. It's pretty widely available in grocery stores and hardware stores. Note that the chemical composition in American Brasso is not the same as that in other nations. Its been around for over 100 years and for anyone who likes thrift stores, its always a good first step in making a find shine.
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adestefan
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by adestefan »

goaties wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 12:58 pm There's a product called Brasso which does a pretty good job cleaning up old brass and other metals (does a great job on old stainless steel sinks). Its odor suggests it might be rather toxic: use it outdoors and wear disposable gloves. It's a cheap way of maybe reviving your old kickplate again.
Brasso is a very fine abrasive in a hydrocarbon base or alcohol base. Not great stuff.

I’d try Barkeepers Friend (oxalic acid) first.
Big Dog
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by Big Dog »

Personally don't see the value in a kick plate, so I'd remove, fill holes with wood putty, sand well, and paint.
Normchad
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by Normchad »

A lot of them are purely ornamental now. My door is metal, and also has the brass kick plate.

If you like it, and it’s nasty, just buy a new one. They’re cheap.

If you just want to paint your door, just paint around it.

If you have a wood door, and live in the north someplace, they make more sense I think. The doors can stick in the winter and if your arms are full, you nudge the door with your foot.
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Cheez-It Guy
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by Cheez-It Guy »

I'd go 2.
Calli114
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by Calli114 »

I find kickplates esthetically pleasing. My door doesn’t have one, but they add a touch of class IMO.
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Re: Brass front door kickplate: paint or remove?

Post by andypanda »

If it's solid brass and not brass plated steel, replacing it could run over $100. It might be worth stripping the old lacquer off, polishing, and then spraying new clear lacquer on it before it tarnishes again. The same goes for any of the old solid brass locks, hardware and fixtures.
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