Painting basement ceiling steam pipes

mbachelor

Hello-I was told to use engine spray paint to repaint steam pipes that run along the ceiling of my basement. Does that sound correct or is there a better choice?  Thanks in advance!

nicholas bonham-carter

Are the pipes insulated, as they should be, and therefore hidden from view?—NBC

mbachelor

No, not insulated. It’s a finished basement so we use it as the heat source. 

Jamie Hall

mbachelor said:

No, not insulated. It’s a finished basement so we use it as the heat source. 

Poor choice. You would be much better served to have them insulated and, if you find you need a heat source, there are other better ways to do that. The rest of the system will perform better -- and more efficiently -- if they are insulated.

But... if you do want to paint them, engine spray paint will work.

mbachelor

Thanks Jamie. Any particular insulation needed for steam pipes?

Jamie Hall

Fiberglass, 1 inch thick. The stuff is made for specific pipe sizes and just basically snaps on over the pipes. Grainger's probably the best bet, but there are other sources.

Once snapped on (it's white), it can be painted if you like -- use a good quality acrylic.

mbachelor

Thanks, again, Jamie. Much appreciated. 

motoguy128

I’ve painted all my risers to the 2nd floor with regular high quality Latex paint. No issues. I don’t see why the header would be any different. However my system runs at 1-2oz so closer to 212-213F than 215-218 at 1-2psi. The surrounding air cools the pipe surface as well.

I agree, that insulation would improve system performance. Radiating heat from above doesn’t work all that well. You just end up with 90F air hanging at the ceilings and lightly warming the floors above. Better to add hint water baseboard from a loop off the boiler and overall reduce the pickup factor and reduce the total steam load in the header, which will lower pressures, make the vents effectively bigger and reduce condensate load.