How to Paint an Old Radiator

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How to Paint an Old Radiator

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ditard123

I have 3 radiators in my rented condo. A contractor half-assed painted them with white BEHR Premium Plus Ultra. I am concerned that they might burn off and turn yellow or something. Since I am renting I don't want to spend lots of money on them but I do want them to look nice. They are all disconnected right now and could be refinished if necessary. Can someone offer me some advice and where to go to for help is i need to get them redone.

hot_rod

Depends on how nice you want it. The best is to have it sand blasted and painted by a pro.

Depending on how many layers of paint you could use a paint stripper, wire brush and 1/2 days labor and get it looking pretty good. A pressure washer gets a lot off also, I start with that, and finish with a pressure wash.

I know some people powder coat them, just remember it takes 400° plus to powder coat, that may be excessive if you have sections with rubber gaskets.

The last one I stripped and used RustOleum both spray cans and brush on. Mine run 130° tops, so regular paint worked fine.

The main thing to getting a good job is removing the radiator so you can get to all sides. I've never seen a good paint job on a radiator still installed.

PinkTavo

My radiators were never painted (an old store) or rusted (Denver). To get a matching color for all and satisfy my wife (2 were a different shade of cast iron); I power washed them and sprayed with the metallic high temp Rustoleum (sp?). It goes on in a light coat...almost like stain on wood. No gumming, off-gassing was over in an hour. I put on 2-3 coats. This has lasted over 15 years with no discoloration, burn off, or chipping (not thick enough to chip).