Which paint is better for heating radiators: rating of the TOP 15 popular compositions

Heating radiators in the house require mandatory painting. The best paint for radiators will protect surfaces from adverse external influences and give the room a presentable appearance. From the variety of coating options for pipes and heating radiators, it is better to choose paints and varnishes in accordance with the type of room, operating features, and surrounding design. Basic requirements for paint and varnish materials: durability, reliability of the coating without compromising the integrity of the outer layer during the stated period, resistance to sudden temperature changes, aesthetics, environmental safety without the release of unpleasant odors.

How to paint radiators

The main criterion that is taken into account when choosing a composition for painting heating radiators is the heat resistance of the paint.
Information about technical characteristics is indicated on the packaging. If it is written that the recommended temperature of use is less than +80 degrees, then this composition is not suitable for coloring batteries. When painting with such paint, when it is heated, yellowing and peeling of the coating will occur. This happens due to the polymer components or chalk included in ordinary interior paint, which are not designed for strong heat. In the “right” paint, the binder and pigments are heat resistant. Main characteristics of battery paint:

• heat resistance;
• abrasion resistance;
• moisture resistance;
• no odor when heated;
• high thermal conductivity;
• quick drying.

Battery painting is done in two times. Therefore, it is important that the paint dries quickly. However, you should be prepared for the fact that the faster the composition dries, the more noticeable and pungent its smell.

You should pay attention to the texture that the surface acquires after painting. It comes in matte and glossy. You need to understand that gloss well highlights all the defects of the surface being painted. If a cast iron battery has a rough, bumpy surface, then it is better to choose a dull matte paint for it. Radiator cast iron often has defects, which a glossy coating will only highlight.

In order not to make a mistake with your choice, it is better to purchase paint that has a mark stating that it is intended for painting heating radiators. Such compositions are also marked that they dry quickly after application.

Recommendations for selection

Before purchasing a radiator paint composition, you need to decide which surface needs to be painted. The resulting surface is either glossy or matte. Glossy products easily reveal uneven areas, therefore, are not suitable for any type of surface.

Radiators are almost always made of cast iron and are not smooth, so it is better to use matte, colorful products. Matte shades also have negative sides. For example, white paint will become darker after some time due to the fact that these compounds contain microcracks in which dust accumulates. Such dirt cannot be washed off, so it is advisable to use dark shades. The ideal color of the battery is the color of the rest of the interior in the room.

The best paints for heating radiators

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Types and differences

In addition to the above requirements, it is desirable that the paint for heating radiators does not smell strongly, or better yet, is odorless. Another wish is the durability of the coating. The normal appearance of the surface should be maintained for several years. Well, for sure - the color should not change over time. Not many compositions meet all these requirements and wishes.

Paints for heating radiators are made on different bases

Alkyd enamel

Alkyd enamel forms a durable, shiny film on the painted surface. If the surface has been properly prepared (cleaned, degreased and primed), a double layer of alkyd enamel will last for at least 4 years. These paints are made on different bases, which is why they have different properties:

• Based on organic solvents. This group has a characteristic smell. They have a wide range of applications, but you need to look for ones with a use temperature of at least +70°C. The base color is white; pigments are added to add colors and shades. A well-known representative is PF-115.
• Water-based acrylic alkyd enamel. The advantage of this type of paint is that there is almost no smell. When making a choice in this group, you must carefully read the scope of application. There are compositions that are in no way suitable for heating radiators, therefore the description should state that they can be used for metal. Do not forget also about the operating temperature. If you choose white paint, carefully read the composition - there should be no chalk there. This is a cheap pigment, but when heated it turns yellow very quickly. Titanium white is added to paints for heating radiators, which does not change color, but this pigment is expensive, which is why ready-made compositions are almost twice as expensive.

  
  Alkyd enamels are a good choice, but they have a persistent odor

• Organic silicone base is used for heat-resistant paints with a range of application up to +600°C. They can be used not only for pipes and radiators, but also for painting stoves.

The form of release of this type of paint is buckets or metal cans of different capacities. Packing is usually from 0.5 kg to 3 kg in cans, in buckets up to 25 kg, then packaged in barrels. This paint is applied with a brush, roller, some types can be applied with a spray gun.

In the group of alkyd enamels there is a very interesting option - hammer. It contains special coloring pigments that create various visual effects. The surface they paint looks like it has been beaten with a hammer (hence the name). This texture perfectly hides the imperfections of the painted surface. The resulting coating is very interesting.

Metal coated with hammer enamel

If you need to paint old cast iron radiators or pipes with an imperfect surface, this is your chance to do without putty and sanding. It is not possible to find pure white in this group, but there are light tones, although not in such quantities as saturated ones - the surface looks more interesting if the color is bright or deep.

Acrylic enamel

These are water-based compositions with polyacrylates as a film-forming component. They have virtually no odor, and even that disappears in a matter of hours. They are usually called “odorless radiator paints.” Despite this, when working indoors, after work it is necessary to ventilate it - this is, after all, chemicals, so harmful fumes are present, although not on the same scale as in solvent-based enamels.

These paints are used for painting facades or interior walls; there are also acrylic paints for painting. Naturally, they are not suitable for painting radiators. Look for acrylic paint for metal, and with a temperature range of at least +70°C.

What makes them convenient is that they are diluted simply with ordinary water, but after drying they do not wash off or get wet. The created film is very similar to a plastic surface, remains elastic, does not crack, and washes well. It is usually semi-gloss or matte.

Acrylic paint for heating radiators can be sold packaged in buckets or paints; at authorized sales points you can order any color from the RAL palette. They are tinted using special pigments.

What is the disadvantage of these paints? Like all water-based compounds, it requires careful surface preparation. First, you need to remove all the rust, then treat the surface with a rust converter, degrease, if necessary, repair any unevenness, and then prime it. Only after this can radiators or heating pipes be painted. If this is not done, rust will very soon appear through the paint layer.

Acrylic enamels are made on a water basis and they have almost no odor (This is PROFI VD-AK-1179)

There are acrylic enamels that do not need a primer, but all other preparation must be carried out in full. For example, acrylic water-based primer-paint Aquametallic (cost per 1 kg is about 250-350 rubles, depending on packaging). It is suitable for painting cast iron and ferrous metal, not used for painting non-ferrous metals or galvanized surfaces.

A good option is acrylic enamel PROFI VD-AK-1179. This option is glossy, has good coverage and adhesion. A primer is required for this coating. In general, the range of these paints is wide, there are a lot of them in stores.

Powder coating

This type is perhaps the most durable and damage-resistant at the moment, but its application requires the creation of certain conditions. You need a special gun for spraying the powder, a low-voltage power source, and the ability to heat the surface to high temperatures.

The coloring composition of these paints is powder. They need to evenly cover the surface to be painted. To do this, the powder is given a positive charge, and the part being painted is given a negative charge (for this, a current source is needed). After this, the paint is heated, as a result of which the powder polymerizes (sinters), forming a durable film.

The process of applying powder paint to a part, and then firing it until it polymerizes.

Powder paints are available with different polymerization temperatures - from +200°C to +350°C. As you understand, heating a cast iron battery to 200 degrees is not at all easy. This requires a camera. Therefore, this type of painting is practically never found at home. If you really want this particular paint for your heating radiators, you can contact a service station that specializes in painting cars. They do it using exactly this technology. You may be able to negotiate with them.

Oil paints

Most old batteries are painted with oil paints, but today it is completely unpopular - there are too many shortcomings. Firstly, the smell is very strong and does not disappear for a long time, and secondly, the paint cracks and, over time, changes color. With the availability of equally priced special paints for heating radiators, this choice becomes very rare. The only thing that is difficult is cleaning already painted old batteries, since the surface is usually cracked and applying another coating on top, even if it is compatible, does not make sense - it will still be ugly.

After a few years, oil paint begins to crack and fly off.

Spray paint

In recent years, many paints have appeared in aerosol packages - spray cans. There are such paints for heating radiators. The principle of choice here is similar: you need to pay attention to the temperature regime.

The process of applying such paint presents some difficulty without experience. In fact, everything is simple here: you need to spray from a distance of at least 20 cm from the surface to be painted, conduct the stream quickly, evenly, without stopping for a long time in one place.

You also need to be able to paint heating radiators with enamel in cans.

Spray paint is applied in several passes. You may need two, three, or maybe more layers, depending on the complexity of the terrain. To obtain a uniform color, the direction of the jet movement changes. If in the first passage they moved from top to bottom and from bottom to top, then in the second - from right to left and back.

One more thing: cover the place where you will work with paper or newspapers, and cover a fairly large area. At first it is difficult to control movements.

Why is oil paint no longer popular?

Not so long ago, cheap oil paint based on organic drying oil was the leader among paint materials for interior work. When the radiator was painted with this paint, the surface acquired a heat-resistant coating that was resistant to moisture and mechanical stress. Low cost is the only advantage of oil paint when compared with modern compositions for painting metal elements of the heating system. But there are quite a few disadvantages:

1. Drying oil-based paint has a specific pungent odor, which causes a lot of discomfort during work.
2. The coating is short-lived. Its service life is no more than three years, after which the layer will have to be renewed. In this case, problems may arise with removing the old coating.
3. The paint layer becomes thick, which leads to a decrease in heat transfer.
4. Oil paint takes a long time to dry.
5. The thick composition applies unevenly and forms smudges.

All these shortcomings have caused a decrease in the popularity of oil formulations.

Oil paints have been replaced by heat-resistant alkyd paint, which is widely available on sale.

When to dye

A question that worries many: when is it advisable to paint batteries - before or during the heating season. In some regions, the cold season lasts a long time and the heating season takes at least 6 months, so not everyone can wait for the onset of warm weather to update the appearance of the batteries. In this regard, modern manufacturers offer paint that can be applied to warm radiators.

However, if possible, it is better to paint the batteries in the warm season, when the heating is turned off. There are two reasons for this. When painting hot batteries with an acrylic composition, it will dry out instantly, which will not allow for uniform and high-quality painting of the surface.

The second reason is the presence of an unpleasant odor, which is emitted by all compositions when stained. When applied to a hot surface, the strength of the odor increases several times.

In summer, it is possible to provide high-quality ventilation in the room or completely remove the radiator to carry out painting work in the fresh air.

Video - How and with what to paint a heating radiator?

How to paint correctly?

There are two ways to apply the product: over an existing coating or from scratch. In both cases, the entire process is performed in two steps:

1. Preparatory work;
2. Application of the substance.

Preparation

In the first case, it is necessary to knock off the crust of their old enamel over the entire surface and in hard-to-reach places, performing the so-called sanding. After removing the old paint from the radiators, they should be treated with a rust converter. If there is no coating on the surface, then it must first be pre-cleaned of residual grease, dirt and dust so that they do not distort the color of the freshly applied layer, and then coated with an anti-corrosion compound.

To obtain the highest quality result, the preparatory work should be done in the following order:

1. The old layer is deleted ;
2. Places with rust are carefully cleaned until a metallic sheen appears;
3. The entire surface is sanded using sandpaper;
4. The product must be degreased with white spirit or a slightly alkaline solution ;
5. A primer is applied to protect the metal from corrosion.

Painting

Before you begin directly painting the batteries, you need to ensure the appropriate conditions.

• So, the device must be turned off ,
• and the temperature of its surface should be the same as in the room, but not lower than 150C . Otherwise, the base will not dry and will not be able to polymerize.
• In order for the result to have a neat appearance, the radiator or battery must be removed .
• To reliably protect the surface from corrosion, the internal surfaces, back panel, and lower parts of the slats .

It is important to paint the radiator when the heating is turned off, otherwise the base will not dry.

• Painting begins from the inner ribs , rubbing the substance well with a brush. In this case, you need to make sure that no drips appear.
• After everything has dried, they again and the front panels are also captured . It is better to apply the paint in several layers so that there are no gaps.
• After this, the device should not be connected for 5-12 hours so that the enamel has time to completely polymerize. If the work is done correctly, the result will last for about five years .

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What paint for heating radiators would you choose or recommend?

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