Should I even try to strip my old radiators?

There are many layers of old paint on the radiator in my bathroom. The paint is all crackled and some areas fall off easily if I scratch it hard enough. I really don't want to have it removed and sent to some company to refinish because the toilet would probably have to come out to remove the radiator. Is it possible to strip and repaint it myself? Would it be dangerous because I don't know what kind of paint was used? Has anyone stripped their own radiator with good results? If so, what kind and brand of stripper did you use and what kind of paint is best for bathroom radiators? Thanks.

Nightmare job that even if you do it yourself cannot really be done indoors in position.

Taking out the toilet to remove it would be the easy part!

Meanwhile, even a small one is freakin' heavy and such paint removal is best done by a sandblaster guy.

-Sorry, I know that is not what you wanted to hear.

I vote for you to paint over it.

Leave this one to the professionals. I advise against it.

I agree with Steel. Nighmare job that I tried twice. Never got it done and look good. And the labor.

I ended up pulling them all. Trucked them to a finishing business in Belvue (Sp) [tech finishing, I think]and paid to have them stripped or sand blasted, then painted with Powder Coat paint and oven roasted.

Damm they came out looking great and about 5 pounds lighter than they went in.

In another house I bought custom made covers that look super great and solved the problem.

I've posted pictures of both outcomes in the past.

Later, Da
The UPS Store
George

Yeah its a bit risky if you haven't had the paint tested to see if it contains lead. Lead paint is only dangerous when you start to scrape it/disturb it/is flaking off.

Thanks for your suggestions, but I just got all the paint off myself. I know it's risky to remove old paint from radiators, but it was so thick and cracked that all I had to do was bang it with a screwdriver and the paint started coming off in big flakes. The radiator is very small, about 18"x18", if even. There really wasn't much dust involved, so hopefully I'll be ok. Now I think that all I have to do is clean or sand it with steel wool and use rustoleum paint. Do I need to prime it first though? Is there such a thing as primer for radiators?

Use a face mask, just in case. There is special paint for radiators, and if I were you I'd look to see if there is primer that goes with it.

@fan5 for what its worth i just repainted mine as well -- i did a ton of research and there were allot of opinions and maybe not good guidance online

i went to home depot and asked one of the guys in paint re what to use-- he basically said get metal primer- and paint with normal paint-- that if you use paint for stuff like grills or heated elements it holds the heat in vs enabling the heat to get out (which is what you want the radiator to do ) he said he worked in the metal biz before retiring and seemed to know "his stuff"

What kind of paint holds heat in? Sounds like a bit of nonsense....

terminator3 said:

What kind of paint holds heat in? Sounds like a bit of nonsense....

i was looking for grill paint which per online boards was best to use for radiators given the heat

oh heck i dont know just passing on what the HD guy told me - who said the online stuff re special paint for radiators was malarky

All paint provides some insulation and so makes your radiators less efficient. Surprisingly, covers are less inefficient than paint in that they (if properly made) direct the heat out into the room instead of letting it flow to the ceiling as an uncovered radiator does.

The old radiator paint was silver, had to be hand painted and was very thin. Almost the consistency of water. You can still buy it. I would make sure its clean ( wipe with tsp or similar) , has no rust and paint it with an oil or epoxy paint. Etch it first, rough up the radiator with sandpaper. Good luck.

Now I'm more confused than ever. It seems like getting the old paint off was the easy part. The problem now is that the radiator is very rusted underneath all that old paint. So I have to address the rust problem before I can even think about painting. Also, this radiator is in a bathroom right next to the toilet, so moisture is another issue. I don't think latex paint will work.

I wish I had done more research before I started this project. But this is the way I do things. The radiator has looked awful for years and we never did anything about it cause it never really bothered me. All of a sudden today it just grossed me out, completely disgusted me. Now it looks 100 times worse than before and even if I did know what kind of paint to use, I can't paint it anyway until the Spring when I can open the windows to let it air. I should have just left it alone, until May anyway. Thanks for all the advice though.

terminator3 said:

What kind of paint holds heat in? Sounds like a bit of nonsense....

No, this is a true fact. Back when many of our houses were built, heat was cheap and it was considered healthy to leave windows cracked even in the dead of winter, so radiators were oversized to compensate for the cold outside air. When it became commonplace to insulate and seal up houses to save energy, the radiators put out too much heat. Radiators would be painted with silver metallic paint to reduce their heat output.

Ugh. I just took my covers off and sprayed the radiators with silver high heat spray paint in one room. The radiators are in good condition, and have a nice silhouette- much better than the ugly covers that were there... I have noticed the room w the silver radiators are a bit cooler than others on same floor, but chalked it up to recently losing two storm windows over the old windows... But, maybe that's not the only reason...

"... if you use paint for stuff like grills or heated elements it holds the heat in vs enabling the heat to get out (which is what you want the radiator to do ) he said he worked in the metal biz before retiring and seemed to know "his stuff""

Ahhh, I'd disagree. I would even go so far as to say that this HD person does not have a clue as to what he is saying.

Steam Rads are heat exchangers. The idea is for them to warm air around the vanes which causes it to rise and suck in cooler air into the bottom for heating and so on. To do that they 'Release' heat, they do not hold it in.

Not sure what metal Biz that guy was in, but not Heating and Rads, for sure.

Master Plumber wrote a very good Post on paint and Rads a couple of years back. Search for it. I seem to remember that it boiled down to the type of paint, the color of the paint and the amount had no effect on the function of the Rads. I could be wrong, take the time to search it.

Later,
Da The UPS Store
George

Fan5 , how bad is the rust? More then just a gentle sanding will take care of? I have an idea for you to try but I have to find the name of the stuff. I think its evaporust. I soak stuff in it , but you can apply to a rag and leave it sit on large projects. Its environmental friendly, unlike other products that dissolve rust. And it works! They sell it at home depot and harbor freight.

Wait until spring when it is off. That's the time for radiator projects.

A cleaned and Powder Coat painted rad.

Forgot to add , I would just shut the door to the bathroom and crack the window a bit and paint it now, the heat will help it dry fast! And I think they painted the radiators silver so they didn't rust.

A nice Rad cover that functions very well.

@jgberkeley, from where did you get the rad cover in the second picture?

@jgberkeley, who painted the radiator?

Wilkanoid said:

@jgberkeley, who painted the radiator?

Tech Finishing

681 Main Street Belleville, NJ 07109‎

(973) 751-9557

Ask for Wooly. A real nice guy who lived in Maplewood for years.

I used John Clayton, a local Handy Man to pull them and haul the over to Wooly and then pick them up and bring them back. John re-installed most of them with my over-supervision. I needed to bring in a Heating plumber for two where we could not get the seal to work and had to replace the Stop Valve.

jmo said:

@jgberkeley, from where did you get the rad cover in the second picture?

Have to think long and hard on that one. Perhaps Google will help. It was a company based in the Amish section of PA. They came out and measured each Rad. The covers were custom made and installed. The design is Hi-tech and adds to the heat of the house by increasing the air flow, dumps the heat deeper into the room rather that up the window wall. The top was cool due the the linings inside and the wood and paint used was thermal.

The job was excellent and the price was a lot cheaper than I thought it would have been.

I will think some, look at Google some and it was posted in a past MOL thread, but, I can never search this site very well.

Later, Da
The UPS Store
George

From the experts: Do not use "metallic" paint as the last coat, at least for the side facing the room as opposed to the side facing the wall.

https://heatinghelp.com/heating-museum/does-the-color-of-a-radiator-matter/

jgberkeley said:

jmo said:

@jgberkeley, from where did you get the rad cover in the second picture?

Have to think long and hard on that one. Perhaps Google will help. It was a company based in the Amish section of PA. They came out and measured each Rad. The covers were custom made and installed. The design is Hi-tech and adds to the heat of the house by increasing the air flow, dumps the heat deeper into the room rather that up the window wall. The top was cool due the the linings inside and the wood and paint used was thermal.

The job was excellent and the price was a lot cheaper than I thought it would have been.

I will think some, look at Google some and it was posted in a past MOL thread, but, I can never search this site very well.

Later, Da
The UPS Store
George

I had just done the research on prior posts and called all the radiator cover company options.
There are people who do metal covers and those that do wooden. The one above is www.woodenradiatorcabinet.com. They were the most expensive of the wooden choices I reviewed, had 3 options. They are likely coming to the area February or march and they would come and measure if you have 2 or more, I believe. Can PM me and I can forward a summary FYI I sent to people I am working on a gut reno with in NYC regarding radiator cover options.

Bingo, woodenradiatorcabinet is the company. Good find!

When I was shopping I looked at the quality of the product and rejected the design of most that I found. Just a wood frame is not what I was looking for, and forget metal. I had expanded metal faced metal covers in one room from the prior owner. They were hot on the top and looked bad. I am telling you, the product from woodenradiatorcabinet was the best and worked wonders.

I used them rather than paying to pull all the rads, having them stripped and painted and re-installed.

In the end it was cheaper, and the product looked good and provided useful space for that stuff my wife likes to keep in view.

Later, DA
The UPS Store
George

jimmurphy said:

From the experts: Do not use "metallic" paint as the last coat, at least for the side facing the room as opposed to the side facing the wall.

https://heatinghelp.com/heating-museum/does-the-color-of-a-radiator-matter/

Very interesting. It's the last coat that matters, so painting over the metallic paint will restore the radiator's full heat output.