Painting Cast Iron Floor Registers

Use these steps to paint cast iron.

Painting cast iron floor registers. Clean the floor vents. Pretty much any paint will work with this kind of heating system water and oil based paints work equally well over oil based clean metal primer. Cast iron can be painted with an oil based metal primer and paint. If you plan to paint a lot of floor vents at the same time pop them in the dishwasher to remove dust and grime.

Bare cast iron is nonporous and too slick to support long lasting painted finishes. Almost 40 years later reggio s cast iron grilles still set the standard for craftsmanship. If the iron is rusty or has been previously painted the rust or paint should be removed before new painting is begun. The grates sit directly on the wall ceiling or floors and in front of a vent.

Many of the homes built during the 19th century were. I cannot tell from the photos if these are cast iron or just aluminum. If you try to paint directly over the top of bare untreated cast iron rampant finish failure will result. It lets the heat escape from the vent but gently directs the heat so that you don t get a blast of hot air.

Oil based painting can be messy and the paint can take several hours to dry. Then sand them smooth. Electric baseboard radiators on the other hand can theoretically reach temperatures as high as 150 200 ºf 65 95 ºc. However the wrong kind will have no effect.

Since i only painted two i washed them by hand in the sink and used an old toothbrush to clean the narrow gaps. You can either strip them with a commercial stripper or with a drill with a wire brush attachment which will remove most of the heavy layers and loose paint. Back in 1978 when mike reggio couldn t find high quality cast iron floor registers for his historic home he decided to make them. How to get paint off cast iron floor grates.

Paint them with a good rust prevention spray primer then again with the color of your choice. Reggio s ultra durable cast iron grilles and registers are our original product offering. It can even dress up a unit made of mild steel which is steel with a small. Typically made of cast iron the grates attract dust dirt pet hair and a variety of other.

Fortunately paint can roll back the years on any operational or non operational hot water or steam cast iron radiator. The proper primer improves cast iron s adhesive qualities. Heat register grates are often found in older or historic homes. Spray paint can also be applied to cast iron.