@hattiekolp: One down, many to go! This is cast iron (was hoping for brass!) and it really gave me a hard time- I tried my usual crockpot method of just letting it brew in water with a drop of dish soap, but it turns out that doesn't work like it does for brass where it will just lift right off after a few minutes. Instead, it got rusty and the paint had barely budged after several days, so I had to figure out plan B. I coated them in paint stripper (I used @citristrip) then wrapped in seran wrap and let them sit. Once the paint started lifting I used a brush to scrub the paint off then sealed them with an anti-rust spray followed by a thin coat of linseed oil. #oldhouse #restoration