Painting Cast Iron Floor Registers

Use these steps to paint cast iron.

Painting cast iron floor registers.

The grates sit directly on the wall ceiling or floors and in front of a vent. If you try to paint directly over the top of bare untreated cast iron rampant finish failure will result. I cannot tell from the photos if these are cast iron or just aluminum. You ll need to clean the floor vents before spray painting them.

I went with a benjamin moore interior latex paint that matches my trim. 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. If the iron is rusty or has been previously painted the rust or paint should be removed before new painting is begun.

Heat register grates are often found in older or historic homes. 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. Cast iron can be painted with an oil based metal primer and paint. How to get paint off cast iron floor grates.

However the wrong kind will have no effect. The proper primer improves cast iron s adhesive qualities. Reggio s ultra durable cast iron grilles and registers are our original product offering. Back in 1978 when mike reggio couldn t find high quality cast iron floor registers for his historic home he decided to make them.

Many of the homes built during the 19th century were. Almost 40 years later reggio s cast iron grilles still set the standard for craftsmanship. Spray paint can also be applied to cast iron. Clean the floor vents.

Bare cast iron is nonporous and too slick to support long lasting painted finishes. 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. Typically made of cast iron the grates attract dust dirt pet hair and a variety of other. Cast iron floor grates and registers harken back to an earlier time in u s.

If you plan to paint a lot of floor vents at the same time pop them in the dishwasher to remove dust and grime. It can even dress up a unit made of mild steel which is steel with a small. Fortunately paint can roll back the years on any operational or non operational hot water or steam cast iron radiator. Paint them with a good rust prevention spray primer then again with the color of your choice.