How to clean the battery from old paint?

Over time, the paint on the old heating battery may crack, swell, or peel off. To return appeal to the heating radiators, it is necessary to paint them again. However, everyone who encounters this task logically asks the question - how to clean the battery from old paint? In this article we will share with you the most simple and effective ways so that you can quickly get rid of your paintwork 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 the aged and lost the attractiveness of the paint:

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

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Tools and Tools

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

1. Special aerosols, which can be purchased at stores of building and paint materials.
2. Personal protective equipment - rubber gloves, a respirator, protective clothing, specialized airtight glasses.
3. Mechanical impact tools - chisels, spatulas and brushes with metal bristles, paint brush.
4. Active formulations for chemical flushing.
5. A hairdryer or blowtorch.
6. Sandpaper.

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Removing old paint using an aerosol

If in order to clean the battery of old paint you have chosen a special wash in the form of an aerosol, then proceed as follows:

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

Important! For the full action of the product, the ambient temperature should be at least 10 degrees C, so it is recommended that the treatment be carried out in a well-ventilated room or in summer.

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

Important! If it was not possible to completely clear the battery of old paint, or if it was applied in several layers, then after a while the procedure should be repeated.

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Thermal cleaning method

You can remove old paint from the battery by exposing the heatsink to high temperatures. To apply this method, you may need the following tools:

• a building hair dryer or blowtorch, with the help of which the product will be heated;
• a brush for metal with a sufficiently high stiffness;
• metal spatula;
• rags.
  
  

It is recommended to carry out cleaning work in the fresh air, which is associated with the danger and toxicity of substances that are released when the paintwork is heated.

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

Instructions on how to remove old paint from the battery using temperature exposure are as follows:

1. Using the selected equipment, heat the surface of the painted product until the coating begins to bubble.
2. Hot paint, without waiting for it to cool, is cleaned from the radiator with a spatula or removed with a rag.
3. This kind of work is carried out until the entire surface of the battery is rid of obsolete paintwork.

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Chemical wash

One of the traditional and easiest ways to remove old paintwork from the surface of the battery is to wash it off with a chemical agent and a brush. However, this method has a rather serious drawback - sometimes it is very difficult and inconvenient to apply the active composition and remove paint from the inner surfaces of the radiator.

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

The washing process itself is carried out in accordance with the following algorithm of actions:

1. Directly from the factory packaging, the substance is collected on the brush.
2. The composition is applied with wide strokes to the surface of the radiator.
3. Depending on the lifetime of the coating and its lamination, a 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 brush with metal bristles.
5. The surface of the cleaned battery is washed with a soap solution of room temperature.

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Mechanical cleaning

If you decide to use a mechanical method to clean the battery of old paint, get ready for the fact that it is the most time-consuming. However, its cost is minimized.

Here the basic rules are as follows:

1. Large cracks and bubbles can be removed using a hammer drill on which a nozzle in the form of a hammer or scapula is put on.
2. To clean 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 using a grinder with a kratsovka or a grinding machine.

After the mechanical cleaning of the battery from the old paintwork is completed, it is imperative that the surface be treated with a solvent, which will ensure excellent application of new paint layers.

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Basic security measures

Since in most cases the paintwork is removed using potent chemicals, you need to worry about observing the basic measures of safe operation:

• Perform cleaning work in a well-ventilated area or in the open air.
• Protect the surrounding interior from chemical splashes, especially plastic and rubber products.
• When performing work, protect your skin with rubber gloves.
• Use special glasses that have a high level of tightness, to protect the mucous membranes of the eyes from the corrosive effects of chemicals.
• Wear protective clothing to prevent poisoning and don’t forget about a respirator that protects your airways from irritation.
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  Stock footage

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