Renovation 2007: Radiators

I am keeping my radiators. I love my radiators.
During this renovation the radiators have been moved around and are no longer sitting right up on the walls. I figured this was an excellent time to remove the several layers of paint on them. So I spent an afternoon stripping the paint off of them with a heat gun and a metal scrapper.
I know the top layer of paint was good old latex paint, as it was the same color of paint that covered the whole house. However, that bottom layer, the layer above the rust colored metal…. I don’t know what the heck that was, and it was a pain to get off. The latex bubbled a little but the paint under it just had to be burned off. Which then made me wonder if taking a flaming torch to the blasted thing would make my job easier. However, the risk of burning down the house, greater.
While I was scraping I was wondering about the history of the radiators in the house. Wondering when were they put in, were they painted then? Were they new or some old used ones the landlord dug up from somewhere? Then who put on the first coat of paint, and did that paint have lead? That’s the question that made me hunt the job site for a facial mask.

2 thoughts on “Renovation 2007: Radiators”

  1. It was probably oil based paint which is what you used to use before water based latex paint. They still sell oil based paint for metal its called rustoleum.

    How did you not know Home Depot was a laborer spot? Geez.

    Justin

  2. Anyone happen to know a place where you can take your radiators to be stripped of paint? I was told I can have them dipped in some kind of solution that strips paint and then they dip them in a different solution (maybe a varnish of some sort) for maintenance. Any idea what I’m talking about?

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