What's the best way to key the paint on steel panel radiators before repainting? Sandpaper, wet or dry, flapwheel, something chemical?
I want to use emulsion to match the walls and then cover with International Radiator Clearcoat.
Use steel wool and lightly rub down, especially inside the grooves
If you rub too hard and take it down to bare metal, rust spots will show through emulsion, touch these up with oil based undercoat prior to emulsioning
Ah, the one thing I didn't think of.
Thanks Phil.
But wash it off veeeeery carefully afterwards, or tiny flecks of steel wool will suddenly bloom into rust in the wet emulsion.
That's why I use wet sanding sponges. One radiator I did that way, more than 15 years ago, still looks good.
Can you really emulsion a radiator and hope it stays on?
Mike P
Ours are all painted in emulsion (except a couple of replacements that have not yet been painted). Just two adults so maybe an easier time for them than a house full of children and animals. Some had an additional coat of acrylic lacquer; some not. All painted using a small roller and ordinary emulsion. All fine.
This is what happens when people believe the crap they see in B&Q - 'kitchen ceiling paint', 'bathroom paint' - as if no other paint is suitable!!
FWIW, you can paint anything you like, with whatever paint you like, providing it's indoors - I've witnessed lounge ceilings painted with gloss and a tumble drier painted with pink emulsion - both looked revolting but the paint stayed on.
Phil L coughed up some electrons that declared:
When I grew up, all our rads were done in gloss - which looked OK, but was a bit wiffy for a while the first time they were used...
Bog standard for me. In three houses over 36 years, I have always used std gloss paint on rads. This current house, which we bought new in '82, has had some of the rads. painted twice since then (children, you know) with no problems.
Ventilation is required and I have deliberately wasted energy at times with windows open to drive out the solvents, (one child was an asthmatic in his early years).
My question was ... can you paint a rad with EMULSION paint and expect it to stay on when the rad heats up and expands ?
The Bathroom and Kitchen paint that you see in the sheds are more suitable for those rooms than just matt emulsion. They are wipable and will withstand a steamy atmosphere and not absorb moisture and peel off.
Mike P
Apparently some gloss paints yellow quicker when they get hot. You can get special radiator paint that is supposed to resist this yellowing.
Next time I get a (painted) radiator for the bathroom, I shall paint it again myself before I fit it. The paint jobs always seem poor and soon rust on sharp edges in the bathroom environment.
Simon.
can you paint a rad with ANY KIND OF paint and expect it to stay on when the rad heats up and expands ?
The answer is yes
Whatever did we do before these were invented? - oh I remember, we used emulsion paint, which was wipable and didn't peel off
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