Revamp an Ugly Radiator

In buildings with steam heat, radiators are standard fixtures, and they’re usually ugly. Fortunately, the cure is simple: paint.
Tools: bucket and sponge, medium and small paintbrushes, wire brush, radiator brush, whisk broom, dustpan, vacuum cleaner. Materials : plastic dropcloth, strong household detergent, oil-base interior gloss or semigloss enamel, mineral spirits, rags, masking tape, cloth mending tape. Time: about 2 to 3 hours per radiator.

Sometimes radiators are disguised with perforated metal covers, massive boxes with solid tray tops. If they’re in good shape, these covers can be easily painted with oil-base interior enamel-use semigloss to match the wall paint, semigloss or gloss for accent colors.

Turn off the radiator at the shutoff knob on the side, and spread a plastic dropcloth to protect the floor. Wash the radiator cover with a strong household detergent; rinse thoroughly and wipe with a clean rag. Let dry completely. Paint the cover carefully with a medium-size brush, stroking the paint evenly in one direction to avoid brush marks. If the air vent or steam valve is visible outside the cover, do not paint it. Leave the radiator turned off.

Let the cover dry completely, as recommended by the manufacturer, and apply a second coat of paint, brushing it on carefully to cover thin spots and lap marks. Let dry thoroughly before turning the radiator on. Clean up with mineral spirits and rags.

If there is no radiator cover, or if you don’t like the cover, paint the radiator itself. Remove the cover, if any, by lifting it up and over the radiator. Turn the radiator off and let it cool completely before you start to work on it.

Spread a plastic dropcloth to protect the floor. Remove loose or scaling paint from the radiator with a wire brush, scouring firmly to produce as even a surface as possible on all surfaces you can get at. Be careful not to hit the air vent, if the radiator has one. Brush the radiator coils periodically with a soft radiator brush to remove scaled-off paint chips, and wire-brush until no further debris is removed. Sweep up the debris and then vacuum the radiator and the area around it thoroughly, using the brush attachment to remove as much dust as possible.

Paint the radiator any color you like, from wall color to intense bright. Black paint is ideal for heat distribution. If you like, paint each coil of the radiator a different color, in shades of one color or in a spectrum. Semigloss enamel will tend to hide surface chips and flaws; gloss enamel will make chips more noticeable. Don’t use aluminum paint or latex paint, and don’t paint the air vent or steam valve.

Apply oil-base interior enamel to the radiator coils carefully, brushing evenly up and down along the coils. Use a small brush to reach tight spots. If you’re painting the coils different colors, use masking tape to make a clean edge for each color, and work on one color at a time.

Let the paint dry as recommended by the manufacturer and apply a second coat of paint, brushing it on carefully to cover flaws in the first coat. Let dry thoroughly before turning the radiator on. Clean up with mineral spirits and rags.

If radiator pipes are exposed, paint them when you paint the radiator, using wall-color paint to make them less obvious or accent colors to match the radiator. If the pipes are covered with insulation, don’t remove the insulation. Wrap the pipes firmly with cloth-not plastic-mending tape, in a color to blend or contrast with the walls.