Stripping paint off of brass. Tips/techniques?

[x88x]

I know some of you have done this before, so I figured I'd see if you had any tips (what to do, what not to do, stuff to avoid, etc).

Bit of background. This isn't exactly computer related (thus the 'misc projects' section), but here's the deal. The previous owner of my house seems to have been obsessed with paint...everything is painted..and often quite badly. The best (sarcasm flag) part is that when they were painting stuff, say, trim or doors, they couldn't be bothered to move anything and apparently had never heard of painter's tape. As a result, in some rooms I have baseboard that's painted white...mostly...but wherever there was furniture, it's still this odd peach color. Also, the hinges and hardware on several inside doors were painted over...with at least one layer of paint. The door hardware is where the brass comes in.

My house was built in 1926, and fortunately still has a lot of the original trim and doors, and the doors have the original hardware. Beautiful, big, brass hinges and hardware, but..well...have a look.
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/20101218_001.jpg
And this is where one of the faceplates used to be...
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/20101218_002.jpg

So, stripping paint off of brass. Anything I should know?

[Mach]

Jasco water soluble paint stripper(available at Lowes) or if you're adventurous, oven cleaner is reported to work. Leave it soak for awhile and then wipe it down. You can also boil the parts and it lifts latex based paint but watch for lead paint. I've also read about folks using pine-sol in water overnight but I've not tried it myself.

[x88x]

I saw the Jasco for wood stuff on the Lowes website, I'll head over there tomorrow and see if they have it for metal (or if it matters). As for paint types, I know some of it is latex based, I think some is oil based, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's lead as well. That is one thing I'll need to look out for when I strip the doors themselves and (at some point) the trim. I know there's a layer of lead based paint on them unless they've been stripped at some point.

EDIT:
I also have a couple cast-iron radiators with pealing lead based paint coats that I'll be stripping...not until the summer though...I like having heat. :D

[msmrx57]

I've had good luck using a citrus based stripper, can't think of the brand off hand. I know it was pretty agressive and worked on wood and metal.

[OvRiDe]

The citrus stuff is pretty good and not quite so noxious on the fumes. No matter what you use a can of ....

http://www.greengadgetblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/448_elbow_grease.gif

will be necessary!

I bet they come out looking awesome!

[blaze15301]

cant you use a dremel wire brush to get it off. they have plastic ones for soft metals.

[x88x]

I do have a plastic brush for my dremel, but trust me, that ain't gonna cut it with this stuff. I ended up deciding my bathroom didn't really need a door until Friday, so I spent the day cleaning up the yard instead (still working through crap the previous owners left). ...remember how I said they were obsessed with painting stuff...lazily? I found a pool skimmer pole that used to be tan, but had been painted white (badly) ...on one side...almost like it had been lying on the ground and they just painted right over it... -_^