bubbling/ peeling on radiators

want2bmortgage3

just decorating the bedrooms and some of the paint is bubbling, i disturbed a couple of these bubbles and the paint has broken off which i peeled back, but now there is a ridge as you can see in the pics:



any ideas how to remedy this? on a wall i'd use fine filler but on a rad i dont know what to do!

KLB

I'd definitely like to know the answer to this one too, our house has old rads and some of them are covered in peeling paint which looks horrible. We would get new rads, but that would involve moving pipes, etc as we can't get new rads in the same size as our old ones.

I tried gently sanding them to even out the ridges but it didn't help. Considered paint stripper but seems like a lot of work.

want2bmortgage3

hi KLB, hopefully somebody will have an answer, i have several imperfections like this on the rads. most are still just bubbles i havent touched, i know if i mess about with them it'll end up like the picture. as you said the ridges are too thick and the paint so hard that sanding doesnt seem to help. on my walls i had a similar problem but i managed to fix it using fine filler, i doubt i can use this on a radiator though.

i originally hoped i'd be able to peel all the paint of the radiator but i think thats impossible as only a little bit comes away at a time.

mickog

hi all. just to let you know that when ever i have come across this problem it is nearly allways a case of water based paint having being used as either a primer or undercoat then they put an oil based paint on top. the heat from the radiator dryes out the water based and then it starts to crack and peel.

want2bmortgage3

hi mick thanks for the info. that makes sense and is probably what has happened. have you any ideas on how to fill the area to hide the problem? or can nothing be done except completely strip the paint off and start again?

mickog

best and maybe cheapest thing to do is get a tub of 2 pack filler, it is the same as car body filler you mix small amount of filler with an hardener then apply it will dry very quickly for you to rub down and then apply a second coat of filler if needed, you can get this at trade painting shops, B+Q just ask at counter. try to strip of as much as possible before you start.

tom_thumb_2

i would say to try and sand it out so that the uneveness is lost. Use a number 80 sandpaper and sand it right back, then if you are back to metel, use a metal primer followed by several coats of eggshell. Eggshell is a flat paint and will hide a lot of the imperfections.

want2bmortgage3

the problem is its really hard to sand, the paint is so tough and the edge is quite deep. the filler solution seems like the best idea to me. so what would i need to buy, the 2 pack filler, plus a hardender??

mickog

hi want2mortgage3, the hardener does come with the filler, screw fix,decorators merchants, builders merchants will all help you if you get stuck you might even get it at halfords.good luck with job. you can also pm me if it want to ask any other questions.

Incisor

want2bmortgage3 wrote: »

the problem is its really hard to sand, the paint is so tough and the edge is quite deep. the filler solution seems like the best idea to me. so what would i need to buy, the 2 pack filler, plus a hardender??

Doesn't seem like the best idea to me. In time, this is likely to occur across the whole rad. Do you want to be filling and matching for years to come?

tom_thumb_2

with a good quality sandpaper, it should sand very easy. I think your filler will not stand the heat from the radiator and come unstuck. I am a decorator and use a small hand sander if i come across this problem and find it works well. Use oil based paint as well not acrylic.