Opinion’s on painting radiator

plumb1_2

Hi all
Whats peoples opinions on painting radiator’s that have yellowed with age.
Spray or brush, If spraying what make have you used to gain a good result.

shiraz99

Not really money saving but I've always felt that life is too short trying to recover an old radiator by painting it, simpler just to go and replace it. Although if I was going to do it, and I have a bedroom rad that's all chipped at the top so I might give it a go, I'd use a spray can, something like Hammerite or Rust-oleum radiator paint.

plumb1_2

The issue I have is that it’s a curved radiator in a bay window, long gone are the days when I could go to a local small engineering works and get them to bend one for me.
It’s for a long standing customer Oap. Tbh I would be loosing money on the job, as it would take a few hours doing multiple spray coats and masking up. I couldn’t/ wouldn’t charge her 200/250 just to paint one radiator. More like ask her for 75/100.
I wouldn’t normally get involved, but she’s having a problem getting a painter to come to do just one rad.

Grenage

I've used the enamel spray paint and it looked very good.  Not something I'd want to do indoors mind you; I've done it indoors, but I tented the area with plastic dust sheets.

Nearlyold

Have used this on a number of budget BTL refurbs Quick Dry Radiator Paint | Rustins.

Wash with sugar soap then rinse, sand with a wet & dry sponge pad cloth, wipe over with a damp lint free micro fibre cloth to remove all sanding debris, wait for the surface to dry then finish prep with a tack cloth. 

Paint as required using a top quality synthetic fibre brush for water based paint, work quickly to avoid brush marks, probably need 2 coats - repaint time is 4 hrs. If radiator is very yellow instructions on tin say to use primer & undercoat first but I've never found the need to do that.

Obviously because it's water based it won't cover bare copper piping ( well it will but the paint goes green) and any bare steel or rust spots need covering beforehand with a suitable primer or the rust will bleed through.

It won't be perfect but it's easy and quick and spraying would only give you a much better finish if you had the time to completely flat the original paint. 

EssexExile

It depends on the radiator. I have loads of simple really old radiators that I paint using a brush & ordinary "wood & metal" paint. Our more modern radiators are all covers, grills and awkward corners and are a bit tricky to paint. I resprayed one but I think the original prep in the factory wasn't good so it's beginning to bubble again. Shiraz's idea of just replacing them is great if you want white radiators.

plumb1_2

Thanks for the replies so far, need something that won’t yellow in a couple of yrs min.
Cant swop the rad as it’s curved and the oap is on a limited budget I guess. Just trying to help her out, as she’s a nice person and wouldn’t like her to be taken advantage off. 

Bloo** *ell  iam going soft the older I get.

TELLIT01

We've just used standard gloss paint on our radiators over the years and been perfectly happy with the results.  The finish may not stand up to close inspection, but who takes that much notice of a radiator?

shiraz99

plumb1_2 said:

Thanks for the replies so far, need something that won’t yellow in a couple of yrs min.
Cant swop the rad as it’s curved and the oap is on a limited budget I guess. Just trying to help her out, as she’s a nice person and wouldn’t like her to be taken advantage off. 

Bloo** *ell  iam going soft the older I get.

I'd go for the Hammerite rad paint then.

Nearlyold

plumb1_2 said:

Thanks for the replies so far, need something that won’t yellow in a couple of yrs min.
Cant swop the rad as it’s curved and the oap is on a limited budget I guess. Just trying to help her out, as she’s a nice person and wouldn’t like her to be taken advantage off. 

Bloo** *ell  iam going soft the older I get.

Sorry forgot to add - the water based radiator paint stays white for ages as do the water based paints for internal wood work.

Bendy_House

Plumb, ye soft gett, I've just checked my own rads - painted last year - and they look absolutely fine.

I used Dulux Satinwood...

Water-based - that's important, as it stays white and shouldn't 'yellow'. Applied with a foam roller - roll in fairly firmly in order to spread the paint and get it into the grooves, and then finish off lightly so as to minimise the orangepeel, which will then completely flatten out as it dries. Once it dries, it'll look great - you would not know on mine that they were painted. Dead easy to do the top grills and side panels too - same process.

Prepare the rads by scouring them with a scouring pad and a cleaning detergent.

I think a satin finish looks best too.

The only drawback with water-based paint is that it's more translucent than oil or enamel, so will almost certainly require 2, maybe three, coats. But everything else is a plus - dries super quick, perfect white finish, no smell, wipe up drips with a damp cloth (c'mon - you're a plumber, not a painter...), and  wrap up roller in a plastic bag/clingfilm with a splash of water between coats - they'll be ready to use the next day.

Obviously it isn't 'designed' for metal, but it isn't a metal surface anyway, but a previously painted/powder-coated/enamelled/whatevs one.

Your customer will love you. Nearly as much as we do.