painting a towel radiator

charleypink

I am planning on repainting my bathroom and currently have a chrome towel radiator which is very rusty. I can't really afford to buy a new one and was thinking of painting it with radiator paint. I'm not at all sure if i can use this paint on a chrome rad, and was wondering if anyone could advise me of what would be best to use, and any tips for removing the worst of the rust.
any help would be gratefully received.
tia, charley

nickj_2

you could try something such as hammerite but i'm not sure if it would stay on - have a look on ebay for towel rads , as long as there's no pipework to alter it shouldn't cost too much to fit

Ebe_Scrooge

You won't get any paint to stick to chrome successfully. You'll have to use some fine emery cloth to remove all of the chrome, basically get it back to bare metal. Then use primer followed by topcoat, both of which you'll need to make sure are designed for radiators. It's a lot of hassle, you may be better off looking out for a decent second-hand one of the same size.

Alternatively, replace it with a new radiator. A small bog-standard rad is not expensive from places like Wickes, B&Q etc, and not difficult to fit if you've had some experience of simple plumbing jobs before. I know a rad is not as useful as a towel rail in a bathroom, but it may well be the cheapest and simplest option.

markie1980

You could probably clean the rust off your existing radiator and make it look good enough again.
There are lots of things you can use to clean chrome from cola or toothpaste to abrasives such as very fine wire wool or flexible sanding pads or get a special metal polish like autosol.
I was always amazed how well a rusty old mini bumper used to clean up!

charleypink

Thank you for the advice. looks like I will have to have a go at cleaning the rust off the rad. Failing that I will have a look out for a cheaper alternative.
charley

roswell

a bowl of viniger and a kitchen scrubbing pad should see most of the rus away.