'Splain my stove paint, please.

[rhetoric]

I bought a used Lopi Endeavor -- well cared for, but the previous owner, I'm fairly confident spray painted the thing. I thought at first it was just one section on the top where a pot or teapot sat -- it's a little rougher there -- perhaps a hair of rust he was trying to cover up.

So when I lit the stove last night for the first time that spot started smoking (and stinking) and fading to gray. Eventually the whole top went grey, and now I've noticed that the door and even the heat shield are going grey. The house smelled, too though by morning that was mostly gone.

I know I didn't overfire the stove -- 750 was the max high on the hottest part of the stove

Since I know the stove was used, I've got to assume it was the paint. Do all paints do that? The brand new stovepipe still looks nice and shiny and black. If I buy another paint is it likely to do the same thing?

thanks.

 

[babalu87]

Need to use hi-temp paint

 

[begreen]

Perhaps the stove was given a quick paint job with regular paint? If so, it won't stand up to stove temps. Stove paints are specifically designed for high temperature operation. Sounds like the stove will need to be wire brushed to completely remove the old paint, then repainted with a proper stove paint. Stove Brite is a good brand, but must be used in a very well ventilated space with a good organic filter mask. I've used hi-temp BBque paint with some success as well.

 

[Harley]

Sounds like the former owner gave it a quick "krylon rebuild" before you got it. I agree with the others... not likely a high temp paint. You are probably going to take it all off (wire brush/wheel, etc.) and start again.

 

[Henz]

Just hope the prior owners wasent a relative! that would make for interesting conversation at this years Thanksgiving dinnertable!

 

[rhetoric]

Sigh. OK, so when you mean wire brush it, do you just mean rough it up so the new paint sticks? I'm guessing the stuff that was going to burn off has burned off by now. I can't imagine it would be possible to completely remove the old black, er. grey.

I really DON'T want to carry this outside again -- I guess I'll tape up a "spray booth" right around the stove, vent it out the window. Double sigh.

No, I bought it from a guy on Craigslist -- no relative. What would it have cost him -- an extra $4 to buy hi-temp?

Triple sigh.

 

[Henz]

yeah, its not that big of a deal...Truthfully, the dude might not have even have known. You never know. If I were you, I would research it, or even go in and talke with the local stove reseller..Just tell them flat out your situiation..Hard to say if the stove paint will stick to the other stuff.

 

[Harley]

The best way would be to take it all off. The high heat paint won't stick if the other paint start to fail later.

I think what I would do (short of hauling it outside and going over the whole thing) would be to burn it a few more times... let as much burn off as possible..... then do a quick wire brushing and paint with stove paint to get through the season. Then give it a full makeover in the springtime when you clean and inspect the chimney.

 

[Henz]

oh man, I feel for yeah but if your planning on keeping it, you better just do it the right way

 

[begreen]

Agreed, this is a bummer. It is definitely an outdoor or shop job. It will be messy, requiring using a good paint solvent, then wire brushing & sanding it thoroughly. If you get down to the original paint, no need to go further, but all of the new coat needs to be removed. Otherwise the hi-temp paint won't bond correctly.

 

[restorer]

What a mess. You have two problems as I see it. First is the @%^## owner covered something up with cheap paint, and second you have to de-^%(%* up your stove. There is a potential for the fumes from the "cheap" repaint to be toxic. Keep the kids and pets clear of the stove. Don't fire it up. Only if you live as a hermit (like me) do you want to burn off the bad stuff.

So, you need to remove the good, the bad, and the ugly. Use marine grade or airplane grade remover. It will take it to bare metal. Contact a local commercial paint store or auto-body supply store. If you are skeptical, PM me and I can give you the specifics. If you are not interested in moving the family to relatives or the local Holicay Inn, you should remove the stove to a well ventilated space. Long and short is, strip the stove completely, prime with high temp primer and recoat in the color your spouse always wanted the stove to look. Use automotive engine high temp primer and any of the best high temp top coats.

You are really looking at a job. This will take time and patience, but your alternative is to scrap the stove and start over. You should never think of passing this off to someone else. an ethical issue in my mind.

BTW, go back to the person you purchased it from and see if they will share some costs, as they definitely sold you an unsafe stove.

Last, don't think you are the only one to do this. A good friend got a heck of a deal on the stove of a lifetime. Brought it by my shop in his truck. it looked too good to be true, so I did the match to the paint test and the prpane lighter. I figure the paint was the quality of $.49 per can. We off loaded it, he stripped, three hours. Gave him the sanders and got it shiny clean. Trip to NAPA, got his wife's favorite color and primer. Two hours later we reloaded and sent him home. Did this in July, about 85-90f degrees. Today it will take a little longer.

 

[rhetoric]

It was toxic -- we're all dead.

Actually, maybe not. Could be that my only mistake was not letting it cure properly (see below). I have a note into the previous owner to see what brand/type he used. I'm not sure how I could get it to cure evenly, given the uneven heating/temp surfaces on the stove. In any case, perhaps I'm just noticing the loss of the glossy and the shift to flat black.

This is from the woodsmanspartsplus website (copied on numerous other websites).

5. Curing the Paint
Most high temperature paints operate in the same way. They use a resin which dries at room temperature, giving the paint the initial properties seen on an un-used stove. Then, when the stove is burned, this air-dry resin burns away. At the same time, the silicon resin (silicone gives the paint it’s high heat resistance) in the paint will not cure until it is heated to high temperatures. This occurs at about the same time the air-dry resin is burning. We have found that this "transition" takes place at about 475ºF.

It takes 3 burns in the stove to cure the paint with heat. The first 2 should be at about 250ºF for 20 minutes each. The 3rd burn should be at 450ºF for 45 minutes. Do not burn at full heat, 900ºF or more, for the first burn, as it will shock the paint. At the time of the first burn there will be a ring on the top of the stove. Within this ring the sir-dry resin will have burned away and the silicon resin has cured. Outside this ring the silicon resin is still uncured and the air-dry resin is still there. On the ring, however, you will notice that the paint is soft- - even wet. Do not touch the paint with anything (like a teakettle or trivet) while it is curing. This is where the transition happens. After the stove has been burned about three times, the entire surface, which gets hot, will have cured, and there will be no further changes. It is important to warn your customers to ventilate the house during these initial burns. Although the smoke is primarily Carbon Dioxide, there are other components of the smoke, which make it smell bad and may physically irritate some customers. It is not toxic. We have had it tested. It is only carbon dioxide, but it displaces oxygen, so ventilate the room while curing. These problems will go away after the first few burns, depending on the duration and the surface temperature of each burn.

STOVE BRIGHTâ is a little glossy when first applied. It loses some of this gloss when it is cured. This means that a stove, which has begun its cure cycle, will sometimes show a ring that is visible when curing. Often, the cured paint will look lighter in color, because it is "flatter". Again, after the paint is cured, this condition will not be as visible. If this is a major problem, one solution is to use STOVE BRIGHTâ #6304 Flat Black paint initially. The gloss paints have shown better scuff resistance and appearance after curing, even though the cured finish is flatter in appearance.

 

[begreen]

Post a photo, the way described doesn't sound like normal curing? How long was it between the paint job and first burn?

 

[rhetoric]

Well, a little information goes a long way.

I heard back from the previous owner (a straight shooting cop) who say it had never been painted as far as he knew (it was his Dad's stove in a hunting cabin -- he had intentions of putting it in his home and went pellet instead). He said, "I DID put CLP gun oil on it, though! When it was in storage in my garage and basement I didn't want it rusting up so I gave it a good coat of gun oil once in awhile." I think probably the contrast between well oiled steel and the normal color of the stove once the oil burned/dried off made me see problems that weren't there.

So, major sighs of relief. Buyer's remorse assuaged. Cold sweats alleviated.

Sorry for all the needless worry I put you folks through -- I know you were pacing back and forth. And thanks for the help. Ain't the internet grand? (If one of you happens to know that CLP fumes are toxic and fatal and bad for your hair and etc., I'd rather not know).

 

[begreen]

That's great news! Open up the windows and let her burn. But this time do it in incrementally larger fires starting with say a 450 fire first, 550 second and 650 final. Try to keep the stove top <700 for normal burning.