Nov 21, 2012, 03:18 PM
MaureenGKellyHow to paint old wall furnace panels
Hi, I was wondering what kind of paint we could use to paint a old wall heater with panels on both sides of the wall. It is a gas heater..1950's style. We want to paint these panels cause they are ugly but affraid to paint it and then cause a fire..since it's run on gas. Any suggestions ??? Thanks so much! Maureen
Nov 21, 2012, 05:46 PM
swschradfirst, I wouldn't run the thing, they are unvented heaters. even if they were code-legal, which they aren't, they give off carbon monoxide, and you need a window open.
second, to paint it right, you should use ceramic high-temp paint, and the panels should be removed and taken outside for ventilation and solvent "sanding."
but the age of the unit, it's likely to flake apart when you start taking the panels off.
what I'd do is shut off the gas to the unit, maybe even have the pipe capped off so it can't be run... install another breaker and run a 20 amp wire over to the bathroom, and install a recent-manufacture in-wall or baseboard electric heater.
Nov 22, 2012, 09:31 AM
joecaptionMany a person has died from that old style heater.
One that old is not even going to have an oxagen level sincer.