Painting a radiator

[Stephen]

I've rubbed down some scuffed up radiators in my house, with wet and dry its as smooth as a babies bum. First go at rubbing a rad down, took ages lol but will be worth it or well cheaper than replacing.

So do I have to prime it or just paint it by brush with radiator enamel or aerosol for a nicer finish ?

Thanks

[ericp]

I always use white car undercoat aerosol on them. The stuff that is a bit like enamel paint. Seems nearest to the original finish and easy to apply with masking.

[Nitro®]

With aerosols I would add that you start spraying 3-4 inches before making contact with the target surface. Also, work left to right on the first pass, release spray after passing target surface then repeat in the opposite direction.

Do not try to cover it in one go, give it 2-3 coats to avoid 'runs'.

[John]

Perhaps I am unusual, but I have had very good results from ordinary white gloss.

One radiator that I did spray with something (years ago) - yellowed and crazed.

I always remove the radiator and lay it flat to paint it. The difficult bit is resisting putting it back too soon and getting hand prints on the paint.

[Spamlet]

And, despite their popularity with the graffiti brigade, there is not much actual paint in an aerosol can, so it may be cheaper to buy a new rad...

S >

[NT]

You can paint them with anything, car paints, model enamels, household gloss or even emulsion. emulsion's the worst, it darkens in time and doesnt clean well. Oil gloss is better but a lot weaker than the other

1. I'd go with car spray or an enamel.

NT

[Andrew Gabriel]

Personally, I hate painted radiators, particularly painted the original colour which is pointless. The finish never comes close to the manufacturer's original. I would certainly consider replacing a radiator that was in need of decorating (and just did one for my parents, although in that case we really couldn't work out why it wasn't spewing water everywhere given how rust it had got).

There are a few things which always puzzle me about decorators...

1) Why do they always paint radiators (as per my gripe above)? 2) Why is that they can make a superb job of painting straight line boundaries along skirting and architrave, and even between walls which are different colours, but are totally incapable of avoiding leaving paintbrush dabs all over the sides and faces of switches and sockets? 3) Seeing how they won't remove switches and sockets, how is it that they manage to carefully paint the screw threads of every ceiling rose so you can only ever open it again with a hammer?

"The Gasman Cometh" is now playing in my head...

[ransley]

If its bare metal prime it, for best finish spray it

[David WE Roberts]

Be thankful you didn't move into a house where the ceilings had been Artexed without taking the trouble to remove and refit the ceiling roses. We can't even see the join between the base and the cover.