Recommendation for heat resistant paint

[manmeetgarden]

Hey everyone,
My wife and I are getting our flush mounted wood insert installed at the end of next month. My wife is set on painting the masonry white. Can anyone recommend a specific paint for the job? Ask does anyone know roughly what temperature the front of the masonry would get while the insert is burning? I’m not sure what the minimum heat rating for the paint should be. Recommendations on if we need primer are also welcome.

What I’ve figured out from today’s googling:
- avoid oil based paints
- rust oleum high heat paint would be fine but they don’t sell white in spray cans. Can’t spray in our furnished living room.
- sherwin Williams latex paint is rated for 150F. Maybe this is good enough?
- Valspar masonry and brick latex acrylic paint could work?
- Behr makes a masonry paint product but they don’t recommend it for applications above 140 F.

The big unknown is how hot the fireplace actually gets. I know the insert gets between 300-600 degrees but the temperature of the bricks is unknown to me.

Appreciate any advice.

 

[Bad LP]

I wouldn’t let her paint the bricks. I’ve seen several done and the honesty of the owners “I should not have done this” has been the end result.

 

[manmeetgarden]

I wouldn’t let her paint the bricks. I’ve seen several done and the honesty of the owners “I should not have done this” has been the end result.

That's been our 6 month debate.. been trying to convince her it's a one way street but hey gotta make the lady happy

 

[Bad LP]

That's been our 6 month debate.. been trying to convince her it's a one way street but hey gotta make the lady happy

Tell her she gets to pay the media blaster to remove it when it looks like crap.
Sometimes you just have to slam your foot down and say NO!!

I’ve never seen it look good and the older the bricks the worse it is.
I’d veneer it long before paint.

 

[bholler]

I am not sure why you say it can never look good. We painted ours and it looks great

 

[Bad LP]

I am not sure why you say it can never look good. We painted ours and it looks great

Some people like plaid shirts, others prefer solid colors.

 

[kennyp2339]

I'm a sucker for white wash, not solid white, but a faded white, especially brick because to me its a timeless color sort of like a black and white bathroom mosaic tile. With that said, one thing to watch out for is dust, once brick is painted, you have to keep all the nooks clean or the brick will show your guests how you really live.

 

[begreen]

I am not sure why you say it can never look good. We painted ours and it looks great

What paint did you use and how do you maintain its good looks? Sherwin-Williams recommends an acrylic latex paint over a masonry primer.

How to Paint a Fireplace | Sherwin-Williams

Learn how to paint your brick fireplace with these tips from your experts at Sherwin-Williams.

www.sherwin-williams.com

 

[bholler]

What paint did you use and how do you maintain its good looks? Sherwin-Williams recommends an acrylic latex paint over a masonry primer.

How to Paint a Fireplace | Sherwin-Williams

Learn how to paint your brick fireplace with these tips from your experts at Sherwin-Williams.

www.sherwin-williams.com

My wife was a professional painter for years so I honestly don't know she did it. But I will ask. When we paint chimneys we use a specialized masonry paint from Sherwin Williams which remains breathable. I will check the name when we get back to the shop.

As far as maintaining the look we do nothing. But it is only for a gas insert.

 

[EbS-P]

Hey everyone,
My wife and I are getting our flush mounted wood insert installed at the end of next month. My wife is set on painting the masonry white. Can anyone recommend a specific paint for the job? Ask does anyone know roughly what temperature the front of the masonry would get while the insert is burning? I’m not sure what the minimum heat rating for the paint should be. Recommendations on if we need primer are also welcome.

What I’ve figured out from today’s googling:
- avoid oil based paints
- rust oleum high heat paint would be fine but they don’t sell white in spray cans. Can’t spray in our furnished living room.
- sherwin Williams latex paint is rated for 150F. Maybe this is good enough?
- Valspar masonry and brick latex acrylic paint could work?
- Behr makes a masonry paint product but they don’t recommend it for applications above 140 F.

The big unknown is how hot the fireplace actually gets. I know the insert gets between 300-600 degrees but the temperature of the bricks is unknown to me.

Appreciate any advice.

I don’t have an insert but rather a hearth mounted stove but my brick above the stove and below the mantle can get well above 200 degrees. Steel lintel can get well over 300 degrees. Top of mantle can get to 140.
In the picture the stove is rather cool, probably just coals, as the FLIR camera maxes out around 300 degrees.

how much do you plan on burning?

 

[manmeetgarden]

My wife was a professional painter for years so I honestly don't know she did it. But I will ask. When we paint chimneys we use a specialized masonry paint from Sherwin Williams which remains breathable. I will check the name when we get back to the shop.

As far as maintaining the look we do nothing. But it is only for a gas insert.

I'd like to know what she says.

 

[manmeetgarden]

I don’t have an insert but rather a hearth mounted stove but my brick above the stove and below the mantle can get well above 200 degrees. Steel lintel can get well over 300 degrees. Top of mantle can get to 140.
In the picture the stove is rather cool, probably just coals, as the FLIR camera maxes out around 300 degrees.

how much do you plan on burning?

That's huge help, thanks for posting that! It's nice to see some real numbers.

It's our first year burning but we're looking to burn as our primary heat source.

 

[begreen]

That's huge help, thanks for posting that! It's nice to see some real numbers.

It's our first year burning but we're looking to burn as our primary heat source.

The temps reported are for a freestanding stove in a fireplace. They will be notably hotter than those seen with an insert due to the convective jacket surrounding the insert.

 

[manmeetgarden]

The temps reported are for a freestanding stove in a fireplace. They will be notably hotter than those seen with an insert due to the convective jacket surrounding the insert.

If I understand you correctly the insert temps will be lower?

 

[begreen]

If I understand you correctly the insert temps will be lower?

A flush insert is essentially a wood stove inside a metal outer jacket. Most of the heat is forced out by the blower into the room. Therefore the heat at the mantel height may be lower. What insert will be installed?

 

[manmeetgarden]

A flush insert is essentially a wood stove inside a metal outer jacket. Most of the heat is forced out by the blower into the room. Therefore the heat at the mantel height may be lower. What insert will be installed?

Got it. We’re installing the Pacific Energy Neo 2.5.

 

[EbS-P]

Behr makes a masonry paint product but they don’t recommend it for applications above 140 F.

I would guess an insert would exceed this for the first two courses at least.

Might look into mortar lime whitewash. It would be water soluble but probably temperature stable. I can’t recommend it it’s just something I thought about at one point.

Full backstory, my wife wanted to paint the the sandstone for years. She wanted a more modern look. Before the woodstove I sanded and painted the brass fireplace doors a metallic silver. It helped it bought a few more years. Then came the stove. I insisted on a white/ivory stove for that more contemporary look (opening was too wide for an inert surround especially in black). It helped more. What really fixed the situation (without painting) was removing the walls and original wood paneling (it was painted) on each side of the fireplace. Everything feels very intentional now.

We have seen lots of “well that was a choice” fireplace renovations here as a lot of homes in are area were built early 60s to 70s. We have two masonry fireplaces, 1965 ranch. It was suggested we tile over the stone. We just saw a neighbors house that did that I’m guessing in the last 15 years. It isn’t aging well. Looks really out of place now. Glad we left it alone.

All that said painted brick can look really nice. Don’t rush it. Removing the surround and painting after the insert is installed would be easy enough.
Just some thoughts.
Evan

 

[begreen]

Got it. We’re installing the Pacific Energy Neo 2.5.

For comparison, the Neo 2.5 insert has a 16" clearance requirement to the mantel. The Jotul Castine has a 25" requirement.

 

[bholler]

I'd like to know what she says.

She used Sherwin Williams loxon with a Benjamin Moore semi gloss topcoat

 

[Woody5506]

If you don't have it installed yet, maybe just hold off until you get into the groove of burning and then you can actually see how warm those surfaces get. I have a feeling it wouldn't be warm enough to require a high heat paint but I personally would want to know for sure before doing it.

 

[manmeetgarden]

Here’s how it turned out for anyone wondering or comes across this thread in the future. I used multi purpose latex primer and Extra White acrylic paint from Sherwin Williams. I Wanted to use their Loxon primer but it was completely sold out in my area. We’ll see how it holds up this winter.