Prepare your properties in advance for the Winter months
With summer gone for another year houses up and down the country will be thinking about turning on the central heating. The radiators will have gone unnoticed for the last few months and now is a good time to brighten them up with some fresh paint and get rid of any rust patches.
Rust on a radiator is quite common and is caused by corrosive water in the system reacting with the steel of the radiator. Any loose rust can be removed with a stiff brush or sandpaper.
Make sure all the rust is removed before even thinking about painting it. And remember that ordinary paints should never be used on radiators as it leads to problems such as heat resistance and yellowing.
In an ideal world the radiator should be painted before it is plumbed in or it could be taken down and painted. This is because it would allow better access to the hard to reach areas. However, if it is already plumbed in the radiator will need draining, and if the property is privately rented the owner will not be best pleased if they have to claim on their landlord insurance policy for water damage. This is just extra work that is not really necessary so it will be fine to paint it where it is.
To paint a radiator, a normal paint brush will do just fine, but it will make the job easier if a radiator paint brush is used because it is angled to reach into the awkward places. There are a number of paints to choose from for radiators. Oil based paint, which is very tough and durable with low odour. Acrylic paint is moisture and stain resistant or an oil based gloss paint, which does not crack or flake.
There are also a number of paints which are environmentally friendly. It is a good idea to not paint any nuts/bolts or any other moving parts. Doing so will cause problems sometime in the future. To get a good finish apply two coats over a primer.
If water based paint is used a wait of four hours between coats will be needed, if it is oil based paint it will have to be left overnight before a second coat is applied. Make sure the radiator is completely dry before turning on the heating. Radiator paint is specially made for central heating and is heat resistant while also being low odour.