If you have antique hardware that can be reused, drop it in a crock pot (from a yard sale or Goodwill) over night with a couple drops of dish soap and the old paint will slide off (like magic). You can even polish the hardware with metal polish and it won't remove the patina. I had some 1890 swing locks caked in paint and they came out looking steam cleaned. Now I'm cleaning all of my hardware that's been painted over -- door hinges, door knob plates, thumb locks, and door catches. Also, I wish new sash locks came with instructions for how far apart to space the latch screw holes from the catch screw holes. There's a lot of eyeballing and guesswork involved. (Nothing's worse than installing a new sash lock and seeing you've got a 1/16" gap between the meeting rails). Having the new locks come with a paper guide for the drill holes would be amazingly simple.
old but nicely maintained windows in my residence,, I installed bright brass locks like handles at bottom 2 handles and 2 locks,I judge the give required still letting the windows join snugly when closed and locked,,no rattling,, one or 2 rubber faucet washers,topped with a thin silver washers,and brass wood screws a bit longer than those included in the plastic wrapper,when installed they can wiggle a bit and still close & lock firmly
This is absolutely wrong on how to place the keep-I bought this exact set of sash locks, and installed them just how you said here, despite thinking, “that doesn’t seem right.” and of course the keep catches the bottom sash as I lift it, and now I have four incorrect holes to dowel and repaint, and incorrect hardware impressions in the new paint, and will have to put the locks off center on the sashes to get this fixed. I’ve been messing with these windows for months, and this last step…should have trusted my instincts, but forgot to check that the sash would clear the keep. Please fix that in the video to spare someone else this misery.
