Painting an electric heater

[Jerry.Tan]

Portable electric heater used in the bathroom. The paint is peeling off some of it from moisture. It still works great and it's in a solid metal housing. Before it gets all rusty, I'd like to paint it. I know the paint needs to be a high temperature paint.

My question is what kind of paint to use. (Aerosol cans of spray paint is preferred). Would auto engine paint work, or is that not high temp enough? If not, what else is there? I know they sell paint for BBQ grills, but that only comes on black. The heater is light gray now. This gray would be fine for repainting, or some other other light color, but not black.

What are my other options for a hi-temp paint?

Thanks

[philo]

I can't imagine that auto engine paint would not be high temp enough.

That stuff is rated for 650 degrees (or more)

[John G]

Look around for more color choices. Several years ago I found an almond color high heat spray paint for an in-wall electric heater grill. It still looks good today. I think that I bought it at Home Depot.

[trader_4]

Portable electric heaters that I've used, never get very hot to begin with, but then we don't know the actual unit. I would think that any of the high temp paints at the big box stores would work OK.

[Unquestionably Confused]

Having lived with electric baseboard heating units since 1974 and having repainted a few, the heat thing is a non-issue when using spray enamel. Hell, it's even a non-issue if you brush on latex as did the owners of the apartment we first lived in.

Obviously, you mask off the element and radiating fins (if any) but after that, I think you'll have success with any quality spray enamel. I know that I've used Rustoleum in the past as well as others. The big deal is - as always - application. Properly prepare the surface, follow directions, and light, repeated coats with proper drying time.

It WILL smell a bit when you first fire up the heater but that will pass and the paint job will look great and work just as it's supposed to.

And, yes, two of the five or so paint jobs I've done over the years were in bathrooms.

[micky]

I don't know about the rest of this, but I'd bet that moveable room heaters get hotter than electric baseboard heating units that are the primary heat.

My mother rented a house that had had radiant heat in the cement slab but that was changed to electric baseboard heaters. I visited there in the winter many times. My bed was right next to an outside wall. I assume there was a heating unit on that wall, though I don't remember. But I also took note of the rest of the house.

[clare]

Stove enamel or exhaust header paint would be best for high heat - but engine enamel, particularly the "ceramic" type should be more than adequate.

[Pin]

Does it is so hot? All the electric baseboards I saw that were painted and there were a lot were painted with regular paint. When my shoes were wet from going outside cycling in a warm winter day, I could not put them directly on the baseboard heater to dry them, it was too hot. Once it is dry, regular paint would be just fine. If you are so worry and do not mind spending more, this kind of paint would do just fine and it should be less expensive in the US.

[trader_4]

+1

We don't have the specifics on the heater, but every electric heater of the kind I think we're talking about, the case doesn't get very hot.

[Jerry.Tan]

Its a metal case about 15" tall and a foot wide and 10" deep. It has a the visible metal coils inside that glow orange and there is a fan in there. It does get pretty hot. Hotter than the baseboard ones with fins. But I'd think it gets no hotter than an engine gets near the exhaust manifold.