tips on painting a radiator needed

MissG_2

I am going to paint my radiator with ronseal radiator paint, any tips on the best way to apply it. It does say it doesn’t leave brush marks but so did the tile paint and that left brush marks, I used a roller which sorted that problem out. I was going to use a roller but I would imagine it to be difficult to do due to lumps and bumps of a radiator. any tips would be appreciated

thekid_2

use a foam(gloss) roller.

I would say I've yet to see a painted radiator that looks half decent.

good luck

btk

brindles01

I don't want to worry you but I found thaty particular paint vile to work with and did not like the results. I pride myself on being quite a tidy painter and was annoyed with it. I now stick to white emulsion for my rads if they need a freshen up. Practise with it first if you can, would be my advice.

MissG_2

That’s what I used on the tiles a gloss roller, came up better than a brush.

The radiators have all ready been painted before we moved in but I don't know what type of paint was used, they don't look that bad apart from the colour.

Where you annoyed by the way the paint looked after applying or just with the paint in general?

I didn’t think you could use normal emulsion, I could be wrong?

Thanks for the tips so far I really appreciate it.

misgrace

thekid wrote:

use a foam(gloss) roller.

I would say I've yet to see a painted radiator that looks half decent.

good luck

btk

You havent see mine then

MissG, dont use the radiator paint, its awful, I used it once, and never again, I use the old fashioned undercoat and gloss, or satinwood.

Can you tell if the rad paint is matt or shiny?, if they used emulsion it should be peeling off by now.

If you want to go back to white, then undercoat over the colour, depending on how dark the colour is then do 2, then either do your top coat gloss, eggshell or satinwood, and all paint for rads must be oilbased.

If you want the rad to match the colour of your wall, then undercoat, and buy a small tin of the colour in satinwood or eggshell, any diy store or decorating shop will mix it, even oilbase, and apply 2 coats of the satin or eggshell, but only do 1 coat of gloss, if you choose gloss.

nearlyrich

We used an eggshell "gloss" in the same colour as the wall for our rads and they look good, never had success with emulsion it tends to rub off.

Raksha

I've used radiator paint with some success in the kitchen, I found the secret was very thin coats, and several of them. To be honest, although it looks OK, the time taken would probably have been better spent on ordinary gloss repainted after a couple of years.

MissG_2

misgrace wrote:

You havent see mine then

MissG, dont use the radiator paint, its awful, I used it once, and never again, I use the old fashioned undercoat and gloss, or satinwood.

Can you tell if the rad paint is matt or shiny?, if they used emulsion it should be peeling off by now.

If you want to go back to white, then undercoat over the colour, depending on how dark the colour is then do 2, then either do your top coat gloss, eggshell or satinwood, and all paint for rads must be oilbased.

If you want the rad to match the colour of your wall, then undercoat, and buy a small tin of the colour in satinwood or eggshell, any diy store or decorating shop will mix it, even oilbase, and apply 2 coats of the satin or eggshell, but only do 1 coat of gloss, if you choose gloss.

I think it's a matt as the isn't much of a shine but I could be wrong.

It is peeling in only a couple of place on all 3 radiators. We have lived in the flat for 4 1/2 years so the condition is quite good considering.

The current colour is a dirty white / light beige ish colour but I just don't like it and want them to be pure white.

Would I need to use an undercoat as it's been painted before, im not on top form about painting

What type of paint would be best, I want the radiator to be not shiny but not dull, I don't want to see my face in it.

Mikeyorks

Emulsion isn't suitable for radiators - but satinwood works well. And, if the same colour as skirtings / doors / frames .. helps the radiators blend in rather than stand out.

Personally wouldn't use the dedicated radiator paint. In this case it tends to not do as it says on the tin.

Stompa

I once painted a radiator with radiator paint (not sure if it was Ronseal). The paint had a fairly unpleasant smell which persisted for months.

ScoobieGirl

Make sure the radiators are cold before you start.

I agree a good quality satinwood is great. I've done mine in it and 5 years down the line they are lovely (no brush marks either). I even did a few in the Dulux mix-in-the-shop type satinwood so they would blend in with the walls.

You shouldn't need an undercoat, but you may need some primer if you can see any bare metal eg chips along the top.