Some progress, and I hate hinges

SO.  Bathroom is slowly becoming less awful.  I spent a lot of time washing the walls, skim coating the parts where the drywall paper came off, and as of today we are ready for priming! 

Today Shaun sanded well and then coated the walls with Gardz, a Zinsser product for damaged walls.  It is strange stuff, like skim milk consistency, but it has definitely helped the texture of the walls and seals in all the dust and remaining wallpaper paste.  It leaves a sheen on the walls. 

We are going to skim over any remaining bad spots with joint compound, then hopefully I can prime and paint tomorrow.  Finally!  With the walls almost done, I turned my attention to the vanity.  I am under no illusions that this old thing is going to look new or fancy, but I'm going to do the best I can with it.  After removing the hardware, I had to spend some time scraping the built up paint and sanding the area smooth. 

I have to seal up both holes because I'm changing to a single knob for the drawers and the doors.  I chose Latex wood filler because I wanted it to harden nicely in the holes. 

I had high hopes that I could use the top holes in the doors for my knob, but because I chose a fancy knob with a star backplate, it was much too high.  Figures I have to fill both holes on the doors, too!

After all the holes were filled, I turned my attention to the hinges. 

This is what I hate about updating cabinetry in old homes.  The hinges are ALWAYS some weird style that you can't get anywhere.  I googled these, they have a little plate that actually slides into a recession in the door.  They are called 'demountable' and I was only able to find them online. 

Since I was only able to find nickel (not chrome) and didn't want to pay and then wait for them to be shipped, I decided to just boil the paint off and spray them.  We all know that 'chrome' spray paint isn't really chrome, but it was $3 for the can of paint instead of $18 for new hinges.  I have an old pot that I use just for the boiling of hardware that idiots have painted.  

I usually boil them for awhile, use tongs to pull them out, and then paper towels to just wipe the paint away.  I use a tiny screwdriver to get into all the crevices. 

The last step before spraying is to hit them with some steel wool.  I don't spend a ton of time, but I try to get all the large areas.  Then, they are looking good and ready for paint!

I use Rustoleum chrome, it works fine and it's cheap.  I know there are most expensive, more realistic chrome sprays out there for rims and stuff, but I just go with this to save money and because I'm too lazy to seek out better options. 

After several light coats on both sides, moving the hinges open and closed to get everything even, they look great!

Now I just need to pick the paint color for the vanity....which is sort of driving me crazy!  I'd love to do a bold color, but I'm sure I will end up with a neutral.