baseboard heat registers rusted

[Letsgobowhunting]

Hi, I just purchased a home that has a boiler and a lot of the baseboard registers are in need of refinishing. Because they have copper pipe running thru them it is not as easy as taking them outside and working on them. Because I have not found any inexpensive replacement covers to purchase so I'm going to try to paint them in place. I am planning to use a hand sander and spray paint.

Has anyone done this before or have any suggestions as to a better fix? Thanks for any ideas you come up with.

 

[The Cobbler]

we paint electric baseboard heaters all the time in some of the apartment buildings we work in. sand them, blow the dust out with compressed air... oh, one more time, blow the dust out... dust likes to hide & fly out when you're spraying. use some sort of thinner ( lacquer thinner) to wipe the surfaces.
We use rattle cans but you could use a compressor & spray gun too.
depends how bad condition they're in, but you could use body filler & spot putty too.In my own home I would probably cover the fins so as not to get paint on them.
I find a semi gloss finish looks nicer than gloss.

 

[JakeKohl]

Can you take the covers off to paint them? Paint on the fins and/or paint in the dust clogging up the fins would really hurt efficiency.

 

[k p]

Definitely take the covers off to do any work. You'll thank yourself once you see the amount of work you would've been doing on your hands and knees. I have one baseboard heater in my living room and I plan on doing the same with mine.

 

[Letsgobowhunting]

The cover and the damper come off. The register does not. I sanded and painted one today and it turned out like new but it wasn't too bad. Some of them are really bad. I am planning to prime them where I saner to base metal them paint them. I will post a couple of before and after pics when I get to that point.

 

[Dave in Mass]

When I moved into my current house 7 years ago, I used Rustoleum Gloss enamel (Black) on a few of mine. Quart can and a brush. Didn't even prep the old ones. Just went right over the old. Covered great and still look new.

 

[k p]

When I moved into my current house 7 years ago, I used Rustoleum Gloss enamel (Black) on a few of mine. Quart can and a brush. Didn't even prep the old ones. Just went right over the old. Covered great and still look new.

I think this is what someone did at my place, but then after they were done painting they just painted it again....and again....and again. It gets out of hand when there's a million layers of paint...ask me how I know. I think the slots in my rad covers are actually smaller from all the paint over the years, lame.