Apartment Radiator Covers Refurb?...Help/Suggestions

[SPEIRMOOR]

So we're going to paint our Apt but we need to take care of these radiator covers and frames first. We have 5 in total. Each have about 30 years of paint on them. The valve access hatch are beat up too. I was thinking of sandblasting them down to bare metal. Is this a good idea or would some sort of chemical be better? The frames (also metal) are built in to the wall so they will definitely need some kind of chemical to strip them. Any suggestions?

Here is the type I'm referring to

[boardrider247]

Personally I would have them sandblasted.
Getting chemical stripper in the louvers will be a pain.

[A-Bone]

Depending on how handy you are it might be easier to build some

-or-

just buy new ones..

http://www.colorsfurniture.com/radiatorcover/

just a thought...

[Wasser]

I had mine stripped and powder coated.

I just have baseboard heat but, they still have all those metal covers.

I'll snap some picts when I get home tonight. We have several different colors we chose for different rooms.

They look incredible!!

[H96669]

We had the same at my parent's place, built in the thirties. 30 years???....start thinking lead paint.

You need some sheet metal pliers, if just to straighten up them louvers.

[ttpete]

Take them to a commercial paint stripper. Take anything else metal you need stripped. Everything will come back completely bare and ready for paint. I did this with all my heat registers and switch and plug plates.

[Beezer]

don't know if such businesses still exist but there used to be a company here that refinished furniture & they had a giant vat of stripper.... like big enough to drop a desk into. they stripped some stuff for me cheaper than I could buy the materials for.

[ttpete]

Originally Posted by Beezer

don't know if such businesses still exist but there used to be a company here that refinished furniture & they had a giant vat of stripper.... like big enough to drop a desk into. they stripped some stuff for me cheaper than I could buy the materials for.

They're still around. The one closest to me does a lot of work for the auto companies stripping racks used for holding parts to be painted. The overspray will build up over an inch thick on them.

[Wasser]

Hey speirmoor,

Here are a few pictures of the baseboard heater covers I had stripped (2-3 layers of paint) and powder coated.








The top one is from my basement. We had them done in a "pewter" color.

The next one is our living room. They where done in a "acanthus" green.

The last one is one of my daughters rooms. It was done in "signal yellow" Don't ask me. . . . that is what she wanted.

[SPEIRMOOR]

Great info guys and thanks for responding. Any suggestions for the frame that will have to be done in situ?

[H96669]

Are you sure you can't remove them right off the wall and plug the pipes temporarily? Take the cover off then you can see what you are up against.

They should also have a bleeder type thing to get the air out, we used to do that once a year before winter otherwise they can be a little noisy.A little water hammer against the air pockets can wake you up at night. Other than that they only ping and crack, great sounds from my childhood.

Been a very long time but we had to remove some at my dad's place to fix leaks, I don't think they were all that difficult to remove.Bloody things are heavy enough they never had to secure them all that much.

If you can't remove them get that paint tested for lead before you disturb it.

[troidus]

Originally Posted by H96669

If you can't remove them get that paint tested for lead before you disturb it.

Only if he wants to spend all of eternity pulling permits and following lead sequestering protocols every time he sneezes. No test = plausible deniability.

[Beezer]

chemical stripper. glob it on and cover it with clear plastic like Vizqueen or commercial trash can liners. the plastic helps the stripper stay in place and prevents the solvent from evaporating. you can move the stripper around under the plastic and even work it bit & check how it's doing. if you are lucky 90% of the paint will stay on the plastic when you pull it off.

be sure to mask around the part to keep it off the wall.

I have stripped parts upside down by pouring the stripper on the plastic first & raising it to the part

[SPEIRMOOR]

There was some lead paint disclosure when we got the place. Must dig it up and see what it states.

[H96669]

Originally Posted by troidus

Only if he wants to spend all of eternity pulling permits and following lead sequestering protocols every time he sneezes. No test = plausible deniability.

Never mind permits.....protocol is good to know if only for your own health. Plenty of lead paints in my house and some asbestos. All gone or covered now and for a lot less than some I know who went playing the game of inspections/permits.

Had a little fun at work with the asbestos protocol lately, fire doors are still full of them but some of our engineers are trained in the "protocol". Lots of old marine lead paints left around, no need to ignore the protocols they are there to protect you and not all that complicated if you choose to read them and proceed without permits.

Paint shops will do lead tests up here, unless things have changed a lot in the last few years, I don't think they'll call the inspector for a positive.