Painting a rusty iron stove

[williamwright]

Any general tips? Presumably I get as much rust off as I can. Rust remover? Do I use primer, if so what sort? Any other tips?

Bill

[newshound]

Do you mean a woodburner? Are you still using it? If yes, then get suitable heat-resistant paint and follow the instructions. Cast iron? I'd say wire brush to get as much rust off as reasonably practicable, but it's not particularly critical.

[Andrew]

Can you manhandle it to a man with a grit-blasting device ?.

This is the only way to get rid of all the rust.

Before VOC2010 'Rustoleum' would have been a useful brand to use after mechanical de-resting but it is now water-based and totally useless.

[AJH]

if you can get it into a big plastic container then a sacrificial Steele electrode and a 4A 12V DC supply with a solution of washing soda is less damaging and more DIY

[The Natural Philosopher]

For cast iron /steel you can get a black wax that you simply rub on, and it makes it all lovely again. the wax evaporates when te stove gets hot but its neither too strong nor too unpleasant.

Very few paints can withstand stove temperatures.

rust could be removed with anything that works including coca cola :-)

But stove blaclkk will cover light rust

[Ian Jackson]

Suddenly I remembered a word from over 70 years ago - 'black lead'.

[S Viemeister]

That's what my Granny always used. It worked well.

[Brian]

An aunt and uncle had a huge cast iron fireplace / oven in their house in Washington - now long demolished. It had an oven, hot plates etc, plus the fire. It covered perhaps 1/3 of on wall. ( the room wasn?t huge). It made an Aga look compact.

My aunt kept it immaculate with ? black lead polish?.

I imagine it, alone with hundreds of others, were destroyed when the area was redeveloped. People would pay a fortune for one now.

[Thomas Prufer]

Angle grinder, wire wheel?

Some of those that build their own smokers/grills/barbecues use a mix of linseed oil varnish and graphite powder: 200 g varnish, 150 g graphite, mix, let soak, add thinner (~50-75ml) to get the consistency right.

Apply *thin*coats. Let dry for 3,4 days, heat *slowly* or you'll get bubbling.

Thomas Prufer

[nightjar]

Preparation and painting tips are given by the makers of a suitable paint:

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Depends how good you want it to look. There used to be a paint on rust stabiliser to stop it getting any worse, and it worked quite well, then a nice bit of zinc paint and a coat of Hammertoe. However, depending on how hot the external parts get, it might not work, and it would be one heck of a pong. Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Does anyone remember black lead you put on kitchen ranges. I was always getting into trouble for rubbing against it and getting marks on my clothes. No idea what it was actually, I doubt it was lead, more of a greasy graphite substance. Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Hammerite, the spell checker is off on its own mission again... Brian

[alan_m]

If it's cast iron and black... Remove surface rust with a wire brush (possibly a softer brass wire brush) Apply the modern equivalent of black lead - which will be called something like a stove polish. Follow the instructions and then light the stove to heat it up.

[newshound]

At a guess, lamp-black (carbon black) in wax. It's very small particles of near-pure graphite.

[The Natural Philosopher]

It is curious stuff. I did a brand new mild steel smokehood in it, and after 20 years its still in good nick.

I think that the wax breaks down and becomes a sort of high temperature varnish eventually. It certainly does protect against rust, but it is no match for a cherry red to white hot fire. The sort sufficient to crack cast iron...

[S Viemeister]

When my great-grandfather rebuilt the family home for his second wife, he installed one of those - that one also had a water-heating capability. All that's left now, is the mantelpiece. And the memories.

[newshound]

Indeed. Laquers / varnishes formed by oxidation of organic compounds can be remarkably effective for corrosion protection as well as very temperature resistant. You see this not only in steel and cast iron cookware, but high temperature components in lubricated machinery (for example IC engine valve stems).

[Animal]

Stove paint is the stuff to use, the heat cures it