How to clean the battery from old paint?

Over time, the paint on an old heating battery can crack, swell or peel. To restore the attractiveness of their radiators, they must be repainted. However, each faced with this task logically asks the question - how to clean the battery from the old paint? In this article we will share with you in the most simple and effective ways that you can quickly get rid of the paint that has lost its attractiveness.

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Methods for removing old paint

Today, the most common use of the following methods of cleaning the battery from an aged and less attractive paint:

• washing with aerosol formulations;
• method of chemical removal with the help of special compounds that are made on a water basis;
• thermal cleaning of the base of the structure;
• mechanical methods of removing paint.

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Tools and tools

Depending on the cleaning method you have chosen, you need to acquire the required materials and tools:

1. Special aerosols that can be purchased in shops of building and paint materials.
2. Personal protective equipment - rubber gloves, respirator, special clothing, specialized sealed goggles.
3. Tools for mechanical action - chisels, spatulas and brushes with metal bristles, paint brush.
4. Active compounds for chemical washing.
5. Building dryer or blowtorch.
6. Sandpaper.

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Removing old paint using

spray If you selected a special aerosol wash to clean the old paint, proceed as follows:

1. Spread evenly over the product. One aerosol is usually enough to process both the external and internal surface of the battery.
2. Wait for about half an hour. By this time, a chemical reaction should occur and the paint will start to bubble.

Important! For a full-fledged action of the product, the ambient temperature should be at least 10 degrees Celsius, so it is recommended to perform treatment in a well-ventilated room or in summer.

1. The loosened layer of paint can be removed from the battery surface using a chisel, metal brush or spatula.

Important! If the battery is completely empty from the old paint, or it was applied in several layers, then the procedure should be repeated after a while.

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Thermal cleaning method

It is possible to remove the old paint from the battery by applying high temperatures to the radiator. To use this method, you can use the following tools:

• a construction hair dryer or blowtorch, with which you will heat the product;
• brush for metal with a sufficiently high rigidity;
• metal spatula;
• a rag.
  
  

Cleaning work is recommended for outdoor use, which is associated with the danger and toxicity of substances that are released when the paint is heated.

Important! If you still decide to work in the apartment, then you need to use a building hair dryer, which does not carry such a danger like a blowtorch. The walls in the room must first be covered with a protective layer of cardboard.

Instruction how to remove the old paint from the battery with the help of temperature influence, looks like this:

1. With the selected equipment, heat the surface of the painted product until the coating begins to bubble.
2. Hot paint, without waiting for its cooling, clean off the radiator with a spatula or remove rags.
3. This kind of work is carried out until the entire surface of the battery will not get rid of the outdated paintwork.

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Chemical flushing

One of the traditional and easiest ways to remove old paint from the surface of the battery is flushing with a chemical and brush. However, this method has quite a serious drawback - sometimes it is very difficult and inconvenient to apply the active compound and remove the paint from the internal surfaces of the radiator.

Important! When choosing a chemical wash, give preference to water-based formulations, because they practically do not flow along vertical surfaces and fairly evenly lie on the surface.

The washing process itself is performed in accordance with the following algorithm of action:

1. Directly from the factory container, the substance is drawn onto the brush.
2. The composition is applied to the surface of the radiator with wide strokes.
3. Depending on the life of the coating and its layering, the chemical reaction occurs within 5-15 minutes.
4. Without waiting for the paint to dry, it must be removed from the surface with a spatula or a brush with a metal bristle.
5. The surface of the cleaned battery is washed with a soapy room temperature solution.

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Mechanical cleaning

If you decide to use the mechanical method to clean the battery of the old paint, prepare for the fact that it is the most laborious. However, its cost is reduced to a minimum.

Here the main rules are as follows:

1. You can remove large cracks and bubbles by using a perforator on which the nozzle is placed in the form of a hammer or scapula.
2. For cleaning the rest of the surface, tools such as sandpaper, files, metal brushes, etc. are suitable.

Important! To achieve the desired result, you can also clean the surface with a grinder or a grinder.

After finishing the procedure of mechanical cleaning of the battery from the old paintwork, it is necessary to treat the surface with a solvent, which will ensure the perfect application of new layers of paint.

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Basic safety measures

As in most cases, the removal of paintwork is done using strong chemicals, care must be taken to comply with basic safety measures:

• Clean work in a well-ventilated area or outdoors.
• Protect surrounding interior items from splashes of chemical composition, especially with plastic and rubber products.
• In case of work, protect the hands with rubber gloves.
• Special glasses, which are characterized by an increased level of tightness, are used to protect the eye mucosa from the corrosive effects of chemicals.
• Wear protective clothing to prevent poisoning and do not forget about the respirator, which will protect the respiratory tract from irritation.

In this article we have shared with you recommendations on how to clean the battery of the old paint, and sincerely hope that in the future your heating radiator will become a worthy decoration of the interior.