So, good news, some progress is being made on the bamboo furniture, but I wanted to share the easiest way to remove paint from furniture hardware. This is worth knowing, people.
I wanted my bamboo dresser to have gold fixtures, but didn't want to spray paint them because it seems to me that it would just chip off eventually. I could see that once-upon-a-time, these drawer pulls and knobs were gold, but were painted over. I tried Brasso and sanding them, until I gave up and Googled for a solution. I found a few, and was skeptical, but figured I'd try anything. Here's how simple it is.
You'll need a pot (use an old one, just trust me here) and a 1/2 cup of Cascade Dishwasher Detergent.
Place the hardware in the pot, fill with enough water to cover the hardware, add the Cascade, and bring to a boil.
I tried to foil line the pot because I didn't have an old one, that idea didn't work, so now I do have an old pot :(
I let mine simmer for about 20 minutes, because I didn't trust that this could be so easy.
When I took one drawer pull out to test the progress, the paint just peeled off. Whatever paint was stuck in the grooves, rubbed right off with a paper towel. It was that simple, and not a bit of paint was left on any of the pieces.