Gophers Sabotage Old Lady's Curb Appeal

For the past few months I've been working on my curb appeal. I painted two adirondack chairs and a small metal table for my front porch. Before and after:

After, Ahh!

Before, Ugh! (I believe the wood is
Brazilian walnut.) 

The color is Behr, "Sugar Beet." It wasn't easy to find a color that would go well with the orange/gold tiles, but once I did, I found an orchid with a near perfect match of the plum and gold colors. It's living on the little white table now (unless it's too hot or cold). So, nature approves my color choice.

Matching Orchid!

The chairs have just two coats of paint; a third coat is needed, but I'll do that later. The color turns darker with each coat, so I expect the final color to be a deeper plum (or beet) shade.

After I did the furniture, I painted the front door. I forgot to take a "Before" picture, but, Trust Me, it was bad. Most of the finish had worn off; it had been 25 years since the door was painted. (The previous color was a polyurethane stain -- cherry, I think. The inside of the door is still in good shape, with the same polyurethane stain, but I'll probably add another coat later.)

I chose Behr, "Indigo Ink," for the front door color.

New Door, Old Trim

I was looking at various front door pictures, and I just liked the way a dark blue enhances brass door trim. The color also goes well with the plum and gold of the tiles, chairs, and orchids, although the whole picture might be a bit busy.

I have to say, every time you make an improvement -- stain tiles, paint porch furniture, paint a front door -- everything around the nice new fixture looks even worse than before. So the nice new tiles made the patio furniture look old and tired, which it was. Now, the nice new front door made the brass doorknobs and trim look weathered and tarnished, which they were.

Before, Ugh

The lacquer finish was wearing off the front door trim, leaving spots of tarnish. Following Baldwin's instructions, First I had to use paint/lacquer stripper and very fine (0000 grade) steel wool to remove the remaining lacquer finish. It took two coats of paint remover and a lot of scrubbing to get it off. Also, although I carefully taped all around the brass, some paint remover managed to seep through to the door, so I'll have to touch up the door paint after I finish the brass.

Next step, Brasso or other tarnish remover. Most metalworkers recommend a vinegar/baking soda solution, but that requires the trim to be removed from the door. I was stressing so much over the idea of removing the door handles -- How will I lock the front door while I'm working on the trim? Will I be able to uninstall and reinstall the trimset correctly? -- I chose to try to refinish the trim while it was still installed on the door.

That meant it would be more difficult to remove the tarnish, and I probably could have done a better, cleaner job had I been working with loose pieces. But what I gained in tarnish, I lost in stress, so I'm happy. Plus, I wasn't really trying to get doorknobs that look brand new, just ones that look not-sucky. That said, it took a lot of Brasso, and a lot of rubbing, and in some cases (especially on the back doors) even the use of a very fine (220) sandpaper sponge to get the brass to shine through.

Final step*, Baldwin recommends using a high-grade, polymer-based car wax to protect the finish. Polyurethane can be used, but Baldwin says the car wax should last longer, especially if you apply enough coats. Also, I read enough comments online from people saying the polyurethane starts chipping when it gets old. I figured the wax would be less likely to chip, and I could just add another coat every couple of months or so.

I researched car waxes, and found one that was classic-car-guys-approved -- Rejex "(pronounced 'rejects')", per the manufacturer's instructions. Not sold in stores, I had to order it online: nearly $27, with tax, for a 16 oz. bottle. It arrived today, so:

After, Ahh!

This is the handle after three coats of the wax. I'm going to add six more coats, but I want to have some cure time between each three coats. Also, please ignore the paint around the trim, I still need to touch up around the edges.

By the way, I love the Rejex "wax". "No. No. No. REJEX is not a wax. . . Wax is weak. REJEX is strong." (from the manufacturer's instructions). The feel is buttery, silky smooth. The door trim's original finish was a bright, polished lacquer, and that's still how it is on the inside. The outside trim now is not as shiny, but it looks richer. I actually prefer that look. But not enough to do this on all my indoor trim.

* I cleaned with denatured alcohol after each step, to get rid of chemical residue that might interfere with the next step. And, in the process, I learned that denatured alcohol will clean graphite. A handyman had once used graphite to lubricate my locks, which leaves a nasty black residue. I always thought the residue couldn't be cleaned, but I was happy to see it wipe right off with the denatured alcohol (And P.S., a locksmith later told me graphite is not advisable, anyway.)

******************************

I've been doing my back door trim at the same time. I have four trim sets in back: side porch french door set, bedroom french door set, and main back double french door sets. Those handles were more badly weathered: most of the lacquer finish was gone, and the handles were completely, badly tarnished. Again, I forgot some of the "Before" pictures, but I did get one (the bedroom door).

Bedroom "Before" Door (the coppery spot is from trying
tomato paste as a tarnish remover)

I'm not finished with the back doors, so I'll add an "After" picture when they're finished. But, spoiler alert, they're looking good!

Update!!!

After, Back Door, Ahh!

Of course, true to the Law of Restoration Consequences, the shiny new back door handles make the doors' tired, old aluminum cladding look even more in need of paint. But that's a project for next year.

******************************

Meanwhile, all the work on my curb appeal is being threatened by gophers, or ground squirrels, or some such varmint. I've had gophers in my back yard, digging tunnels. The front yard varmints are just churning up dirt mounds. (Someone on Nextdoor said they're looking for grubs that might be under the surface of the lawn.)

I've spent around $50 so far on varmint-repellent, and I installed solar lights around the garden area, near where they're digging. I also threw some dog poo on a couple of the mounds. The activity seems to have abated somewhat, but they're not gone yet.

In the backyard, I installed two sonic gopher spikes which worked with the repellent to stop those gophers, but I think the spikes are for tunneling critters. The front yard critters aren't tunneling, they're just churning up the top soil. So I don't know what else to do.

Update X2: My brother suggested this may help: