I've removed a rad at work, that's old enough to almost be interesting, It's been painted and painted again, badly, I wouldn't mind stripping it and reusing it.
Can I DIY the paint off it, or is it likely to need dipping or blasting or....
And then i'd like it to be bronze.
Any input appreciated as ever.
Today' EU regulation limited paint stripper is dire: take it to a grit blaster if you can, or Nitromors and a pressure washer MIGHT do the similar job much slower and more messily...
If it's a steel one, throw it away.
If it's a cast iron sectional, worth doing. Do not bang around or drop. it will leak on the joints. Very hard to fix.
Best to get it sandblasted. That will go straight through any weak points, so a test if suitable for further use too.
Not a caustic soda dip as done for stripped pine in the dim and distant? Cast iron of course are made from separate units with joins, so caustic might attack whatever goo was used there.
Yes indeed, I had a nice black painted office chair base that I got stripped, and it fell to bits. Bah Humbug. Brian
Acid dip or blast is the usual optoin. You can also de-rust using HCl, wiping it off once it's done its spot. But HCl leaves the surface so reactive that if you let it dry by itself it wlil be rusty by the time it's dry. Wipe it dry & undercoat without delay. Or better, zinc coat the patches using a battery casing & charger.
NT
Sods law says it's only the paint layers that stops it leaking :(
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