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Radiators ... painting

Started by vwilson, February 20, 2008, 08:12:51 PM

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vwilson

Ok, since my rennovation plans are cut down I think I'm stuck with the yucky old radiators, but radiator paint exists for a reason. What I need to know is ... what type of radiators are these and can they be painted.

(Yes, I know they're foul ... they actually look better in these pictures than they do in real life)




They're electric, and were made by these people ... probably about twenty years ago. I've seen a note online saying that oil-filled radiators shouldn't be painted (although I don't know how true that is).

Would be great to hear your thoughts on my dodgy radiators .... (I know you guys love pictures)


V

propertyfag

V!! Why do you have a pile of boxes in the corner? Haven't you unpacked everything?

You can get special radiator paint, but a lot of people don't bother because the colours are limited.

What colour do you want them? If you want white radiators I wouldn't use gloss, because they chip easily from my experience. I'd use satinwood instead or emulsion. Satinwood is pretty similar to emulsion; it's a water soluble and dries quickly and looks great (matt).
White radiator enamel is a nightmare to use and expensive. It runs, takes ages to dry and you need to coat a couple of times.

If you want colour radiators use emulsion. It's easy to apply, dries quickly, doesn't chip and looks decent.

Badger

Why paint, it looks nasty if not applied right, have you thought about covers ! they look much better and you have another shelf.
If not white radiator paint looks better than most as the runs dont look so bad

propertyfag

Yeah, I have radiator covers at my house, they look nice :)

m00

I think radiator covers are the way forward.

No offence PF but I hate it when I come across a painted radiator especially in emulsion  :-\

What about spray paint? - http://www.hammerite.com/uk/products/usage/ug_chrome_radiator_paint_aerosol.html

vwilson

I'm after white radiators - they'd probably look ok if they were white, you see.

The aerosol idea looks good - do they do that stuff in any colour other than chrome??

Am not a fan of radiator covers ... there doesn't seem much point in heating a radiator just to insulate it and keep the heat in. There's also the factor that I wouldn't rate my DIY skills particularly highly at the moment. Painting I can do, spraying I can probably do ... fitting a radiator cover would be a challenge.


V

propertyfag

If you want white, you can get radiator paint from the usual suspects, B&Q..etc.

Badger

It will be a great idea to get the correct method on how to paint a rad, the correct bruch and paint type for the heat that the rad kicks out, brush strokes, i know this sounds a bit anal, but done wrong and its pooped for ever.

vwilson

Well, that was why I posted the pictures really to see if anyone recognised that type of electric radiator ... I saw a note somewhere to say oil filled electric radiators shouldn't be painted, and I've no idea if these have oil in them. They don't look like they do, but I'm not really an expert.


V


vwilson

It does, yes - thank you :)

Am planning some serious DIY preparation today!


V

vwilson

Progress update ("during") ... hall radiator (the top picture out of the two above):





V

m00


Badger

She is the best !, good work just there.

vwilson

Thank you :) Encouragement is good, have had a very frenetic weekend doing lots of preparation and right now am tired and wondering just what I've started!!

Managed to break the bayonet fitting on my hall light earlier, so the bulb won't stay in now. Its a right pain in the ar$e, because the hallway is the first room I've decided to paint (its all masked up and everything)! Am guessing that'll be one of these jobs that now has to be done by an electrician now these new regs are out?


V

PS. All this "breath-easy paint" stuff is b0110cks, it doesn't smell as much but it's still just as bad for you, I got a whacking headache tonight and I very rarely get headaches.

Badger

Are you sure you dont want me to come round with my tiger effect thong on to give you a hand you poor thing !   :o

vwilson

Does it glow in the dark, then? Or are you going to use it to strap a bulb in the broken bayonet fitting?  ;D


V

Badger

lol
But if i use it to hold up the bayonet fitting then whats going to hold me up !, ahhh enough already its Monday for gods sake lol.

m00


propertyfag

Where the hell is V? She's gone missing again!

Badger

Ahh the lass has been in native surroundings daaaan saaaffff in Bmouth.  I am sure the great one will be back soon.

vwilson

#21
Aww so sweet of you all to miss me. Yes, I confess, I've recently been spending more time in DIY-doing mode and less in DIY-typing mode!

Here's a "before" of the radiator in the hallway (for those who blanked out the horror):


Here's the "finished" shot of the radiator (without all the masking paper, and with newly painted hall walls and woodwork)!


Hope it meets with your collective approval!

Here's some shots of the rest of the hallway work. I didn't really take a proper "before" shot, but this one will give you an idea:


And here's now:


Badger

Love the rads, wasnt expecting them to come out quite so well V,  Good work that girl

vwilson

Thanks Badgie ... what did you think of the rest of the paintwork? Its the first room I've ever painted :) Walls took multiple coats because this place has never been painted since it was built, apart from maybe one coat of emulsion straight over the plaster.

For anyone hoping to do the same, I used Ronseal "Quick Drying" Radiator Paint in White Satin (there is also Gloss available).

The tin suggested you can sit there and spray it once, wait half an hour, spray it again (if it didn't completely cover) then you're done. The reality is you won't be able to stand near the radiator for long enough to get a whole coat on, the fumes are just too horrible. You need to get yourself a mask, hold your breath as much as possible, get on as much as you can then take a few minutes away, then go back and do some more. Every now and then give it a longer break to make sure you don't get too much wet paint on there and end up with problems.

Also, make sure you cover *everything*. This stuff goes everywhere - much further than the masking paper I had in the earlier photos.

Still got two more radiators to do so I'll try and get before and after shots of those too.


V

Badger

V my dear, the walls and wood areas are looking sharp girl, a good job well done.  The more i look at the rads the more i like them.
I think you maybe onto something here !  70s retro rads in any colour ££££££££
x

m00

Looking great!

I think the heaters look minimal and better than more recent styles and spraying them was the best idea!

Remember to clean your sockets and switches - I find a good paint job looks even better when they're free of paint... :)

vwilson

Cheers guys.

I've not cleaned the switches because I'm going to replace them with brushed steel style ones.

Although I could use cleaning a few splatters off doors. Did you have a good method to recommend for such removals, moo?


V

m00

Brushed steel, nice!

It depends what type of paint you used. Normal emulsion should just wipe off with a damp cloth (anything water based will) although you might have to use a bit of pressure.

It's all we do at work, I clean newly built houses everyday, and the painters aren't so careful!

Gloss, onced dried, is a nightmare!  :-\

vwilson

I'm not sure about the satin for the woodwork but the emulsion was definitely water based, so some scrubbing may help there on the doors (which is where the most obvious splatters are) - thanks for the tip! Had I been more patient I could have avoided more mess really, shall try harder next time :) People don't spend much time in a hallway, which is why I decided to do that room first, and make all my mistakes where they won't have time to look!


V