stripping radiators

Zach_2

Hi all,



Quick question for you. We have a bunch of cast iron radiators in our one pipe steam system with paint in terrible shape. We want to get the paint off but in a lead safe fashion.



Does anyone have experience using chemical strippers or heat guns to remove the paint with the radiators in place? Any other methods you would suggest without hauling the radiators out of the house?

Steve Nichols

be careful

Lead paint releases bad fumes when heated. Because of all the curves, stripping is a real pain.  I have had good luck with a product called Citristrip. I belive HomeDespot sells it.  I have only used it on wood but it has worked well and  removed lead paint.  It makes a mess but if you let it sit on for a while it will cause the paint to bubble up.  Other more aggressive chemicals (5F5) will do the job faster, but the chemicals are nasty, as they burn the skin quickly and then there is the disposal issue. 

If you can wait until summer, you can at least disconnect them and put them on a tarp and go to town. Take it slow, one at a time and do a thorough job.  Be mindful that the color you paint them will impact their ability to radiate heat.  Any shiny/metallic/glossy bright paints will cut down on the EDR.  If you want max heat, you gotta paint them flat black, baby!  If they produce too much heat, then have fun picking a cool color.

Maybe others will chime in with easier solutions and best of luck!

 

Hap_Hazzard

I would not recommend using a chemical stripper.

These need to be removed with water--very messy to do indoors!



I've been able to strip them fairly effectively with wire brushes. This will produce a lot of dust and debris, but with a dust collector you should be able to capture most of it.

Hap_Hazzard

Color

I would have thought flat black would be the best color too, but it turns out that, other than metallic colors, which reduce the effectiveness, all other colors, flat or glossy, are the same. There's an article somewhere in the library here that gives the details.

MTC

Yes

Silver and Gold metallic paint will reduce effective EDR by about 20%. All other colors are essentially the same, with basically zero effect.



In comparing to your existing radiators, its really only the outtermost layer that counts. So If your radiators are currently non-metallic, they'll be about the same heat output when you're done with any non-metallic paint, or 20% less if you go metallic. If they're currently metallic and you go metallic, same, if you go non-metallic, you'll get about a 25% increase over the current heat output.



If your system is oversized, or imbalanced, or whatever, you can use this to your advantage.



If you really want to be lead safe and get a long-lasting product, you can have them removed, sandblasted down to bare cast iron, and then powdercoated. You'll have stunningly beautiful radiators with all their original detail (if they have any), and a finish that will last a very long time.



You'll also have a much lighter wallet.

kcopp

I too would wait...

Take them outside and try pressure washing them w/ a pressure washer and a sharp nozzle.

Dean_7

Stripping Radiators

Speaking strictly from experience I tried all the chemical methods and wire brushing on all of our radiators. All were messy and time consuming. Finally I bit the bullet and removed them and had them sandblasted. Much better results. They were repainted with Plasti-Coat hi temp engine enamel. It has been 9 years now and they are holding up just fine. Powdercoating was my first choice but there is no one near enough to us to do it