Paint for heating batteries

Heating batteries - an indispensable element of the interior of apartments and houses. They look beautiful when they have a smooth and clean surface. Old batteries with faded and cracked paint are immediately noticeable. It is not difficult to apply a new dye to radiators, however, it is important to observe a number of requirements so that the paint for heating radiators maintains a pleasant appearance for a long time.

The choice of paint for heating batteries and pipes

The paint used for radiators must meet the following requirements:

• Resistance to high temperatures;
• Resistance to blows and abrasion;
• Resistance to household cleaning substances;
• Security.

Dyes of the following types are intended for painting batteries and pipes of the heating system:

• Alkyd. A very common look, available in a wide range of colors. These enamels are resistant to high temperature and mechanical stress. Of the disadvantages is a long drying period, during which an unpleasant odor persists.
• Acrylic Advantage is glossy gloss, lasting for a long time. This species has the same disadvantages that are observed in alkyd compounds.
• Water dispersible. For these paints, water is used as a solvent, so that an unpleasant odor is not formed. Drying lasts 40 minutes - 1 hour. After drying, a film of polymers resistant to water is formed. Water dispersible compositions have recently appeared on the market, so they have not yet received wide distribution.

Traditionally, white enamels were used for cast iron batteries. Now there is a wide selection of compositions for coloring. Radiators look good, painted in accordance with the interior and general design of the room.

Very unusual look batteries and pipes, painted in shades of bronze and gold colors. As ornaments, patterns and ornaments are applied.

Preparation of heating radiators for painting

In many respects, the quality of painting depends on the thoroughness of the preparatory work. Often, preparation requires significantly more time than the application of the paint itself.

The first step is cleaning the surface. Contamination is removed with a wet rag. It is better not to remove old enamel if it is firmly held on the battery and does not have cracks or swelling. Most often, the old coating is in poor condition, and the battery needs to be cleaned of it. You should remove the entire coat of paint - if you keep firmly holding pieces, then the new coating will not work out evenly, and you will see the protrusions from which the destruction of the new coat will go. As a result, the new surface will serve much less than it could with high-quality processing.

To clean the surface of the paint, washing solutions are used that are applied by brush to the surface of the battery. After their application, the radiator is wrapped in a film. After about an hour, the paint softens and is removed with a spatula. The cleaned surface is rubbed with sandpaper. Particular attention is paid to rust stains. They need to be cleaned to pure metal, with this a nozzle on the drill will help in the form of a round brush with metal fibers. You can also use compounds to remove rust. If it is not serious to clean up the effects of corrosion, the cast-iron battery will continue to rust and the paint will not last long.

After mechanical cleaning, dust is blown away. White spirit or “Galosh” gas-degreaser is suitable for degreasing. Similar operations are performed with pipes of the heating system. Cleaning and degreasing is necessary even for new designs.

An anticorrosion primer is applied to the cleaned metal. It promotes increased adhesion and protects structures from rust. It is better to use a primer and paint from the same manufacturer, this guarantees good adhesion.

The surface of the walls and floor around the radiators and pipes are protected from the ingress of coloring compounds. In addition to "traditional" fabrics and newspapers, it is convenient to use masking tape. It can be glued on surfaces in contact with painted elements.

Paint application

The main condition for high-quality painting is the performance of work with cold batteries. If you want to paint during the heating season, the radiators are turned off by valves. Disabling the entire riser is a complex procedure that must be agreed with the neighbors. In this case, the batteries should cool and remain cold during the hardening of the paint.

The tool for applying the coloring composition consists of two small brushes with soft villi. One brush has a straight shape, it does most of the work.

Hard to reach spots curved brushwhich allows you to paint designs on all sides.

Instead of a straight brush, you can also use dense foam roller.

Paint is applied from top to bottom. First, it is better to paint the internal surfaces and hard-to-reach places, so as not to get clothes or hands in the paint. After the first coat has dried, the second is applied. This will ensure uniform coating thickness and a smooth surface.

To paint the radiator, you can use spray guns. To do this, it is better to remove the batteries. However, in this way it will be difficult to paint the heating pipes from all sides, it is better to use a curved brush for them.