What’s your experience with light colored paint?

[ray milosh]

I am considering painting a 2005 Morso 2B classic an off-white color. It’s currently black and rust. Has anyone done such a thing? How do light colored paints hold up? Are they difficult to keep clean? Would a glossy finish be better than a flat finish? Have any paint brand warnings or recommendations?Should I forget the whole thing and go with black?

 

[webby3650]

I’ve painted a few stoves with off colors. It holds up fine, and is easily touched up if needed. Satin black is the easiest to wipe down that I’ve found. I’ve not seen any light colors in anything but flat. Buy Stove Bright paint, nothing from big box stores does well.
Here’s a light colored one I did a few years back.

 

[ray milosh]

Well I did it. It took 6 cans of VHT" flameproof" (bought at OReilley Auto) flat white paint. It took about 6 coats to get it well covered. I'd hand paint it if I were to do it again.
The fumes were atrocious. I used a cartridge respirator. They are amazing. I couldn't smell a thing.

Overall, everyone says a white woodstove looks a little funny. I agree. Also, white shows casting defects, messy mortar, rust pits and fuzz with dazzling clarity. We'll see how easy it is to keep clean. Probably not very.

 

[begreen]

Well I did it. It took 6 cans of VHT" flameproof" (bought at OReilley Auto) flat white paint. It took about 6 coats to get it well covered. I'd hand paint it if I were to do it again.
The fumes were atrocious. I used a cartridge respirator. They are amazing. I couldn't smell a thing.

Overall, everyone says a white woodstove looks a little funny. I agree. Also, white shows casting defects, messy mortar, rust pits and fuzz with dazzling clarity. We'll see how easy it is to keep clean. Probably not very.

Break in the paint with a small kindling only fire, then let cool and build a bit larger fire the next time. Here are VHTs recommendations, but it will be hard to be exactly right with the temp or time given the nature of a wood fire. Do your best to approximate. Open some windows. When the stove gets over 400º it will smoke a bit as the paint bakes in. Once it has had a fire or two that take it over 600º it should be fully cured.

• Paint must be completely dry before curing
• Heat to 250°F (121°C) for 30 minutes
• Cool for 30 minutes
• Heat to 400°F (204°C) for 30 minutes
• Cool for 30 minutes
• Heat to 650°F (343°C ) for 30 minutes

PS: I'm glad you used a proper respirator for protection. VHT is acetone based. The raw paint fumes are toxic and brain rotting.

 

[Woody5506]

My wife wanted our T5 in white but I cheaped out with the black and also felt like the white would be hard to keep clean. As it turns out, what ends up making my stove dirty is dust/ash, in which case the white would hide it pretty well I would think.

 

[begreen]

Generally, enameled stoves are easier to keep clean. The smooth surface just requires a wipe with a damp rag to keep looking sharp.

 

[ray milosh]

Wow. That didn't work at all. I painted the stove pure white with 6 thin coats of VHT 2000 degree paint.
A week later, I built a small fire, got the top of the stove to about 300. The remainder never really got very warm...it's hard to get all of a wood stove to a low temp.
the next day, I built a larger fire and got it to about 400 or 500. Some paint flaked a little and white near the the hottest part turned a buttery yellow color.
I built a decent fire a few days later and the paint is coming right off in the place where the stove gets hottest. It is also getting to a tan color around that area.

My prep involved scrubbing the stove with a wire brush and sand paper, washing it with soap and water, rinsing it, drying it with a fire and then wiping it with acetone before painting it.

Now I have a mess. I'm not sure how to proceed.

 

[webby3650]

Buy Stove Bright paint, nothing from big box stores does well..

Next time try Stove Bright

 

[jetsam]

The right thing would be to strip it completely, but that is a lot of work. You may want to consider it though because if the old paint eventually does come up, it will take the new paint with it.

Failing that, I'd do a real hot fire to encourage the rest to come off, let it cool, wire wheel to get off anything that wants to come off, lightly sand the whole thing to rough it up and smooth shoulders between painted and unpainted areas, wipe it down with a clean cloth, then stove paint on the unpainted areas only, then recoat the whole thing with stove paint.

Stove bright makes light colors.

 

[begreen]

Bummer. I've never used VHT, but it has a similar base as Stove Brite. According to the MSDS is should be ok for up to 2100º. That said, Stove Brite and Thurmalox are the industry standards. I am wondering if the stove ever had stove polish applied to it. That will make it hard for paint to bond until completely removed.

 

[TWilk117]

My stoves manufacture recommends Dampney’s stove paint.
http://www.stovepaint.com/

 

[webby3650]

My stoves manufacture recommends Dampney’s stove paint.
http://www.stovepaint.com/

What stove do you have? That’s thermolux that was mentioned earlier by the way.

 

[TWilk117]

What stove do you have? That’s thermolux that was mentioned earlier by the way.

Navigator Stove Works NSW2 Little Cod.

 

[TWilk117]

That’s thermolux that was mentioned earlier by the way.

Oh okay. Sorry. Didn’t notice that. Just trying to be helpful.

 

[webby3650]

Navigator Stove Works NSW2 Little Cod.

I’m not familiar with that stove.

 

[TWilk117]

I’m not familiar with that stove.

It’s a boat cabin stove.

 

[Hogwildz]

Take it and get it media blasted. Then use Stove Bright. My myself, hell no to light colors. And my thinking...nothing white, ever stays white for very long. That's just me though.

 

[Woody5506]

Wow. That didn't work at all. I painted the stove pure white with 6 thin coats of VHT 2000 degree paint.
A week later, I built a small fire, got the top of the stove to about 300. The remainder never really got very warm...it's hard to get all of a wood stove to a low temp.
the next day, I built a larger fire and got it to about 400 or 500. Some paint flaked a little and white near the the hottest part turned a buttery yellow color.
I built a decent fire a few days later and the paint is coming right off in the place where the stove gets hottest. It is also getting to a tan color around that area.

My prep involved scrubbing the stove with a wire brush and sand paper, washing it with soap and water, rinsing it, drying it with a fire and then wiping it with acetone before painting it.

Now I have a mess. I'm not sure how to proceed.

Honestly can't really figure out what would have gone wrong especially since your prep sounds about as good as you can do short from sand/media blasting.

If possible, paint something small with that same paint and either bake or heat it up somehow - see if it discolors the same as your stove did, or flakes and peals. If so, I would contact the paint manufacturer and tell them their product is garbage, or at least ask how their white remains white under it's intended heated circumstances.

 

[ray milosh]

I intended to go with Stove bright, but they don't offer pure white, which is what katie wanted. Thanks, all for the suggestions. I like the idea of putting the paint on clean steel and heating it to see if it sticks and stays white.
the stove had stove black on it, but I figured that scrubbing it with soap and water until the water ran clear and then heating the cast iron would have been good enough. there were places on the stove that were just rust and the paint has come off those places, too. before and after pictures below. You can see that the stove was bare steel is the place where the paint has come off the most. The yellowing can be seen, too.

 

[TWilk117]

I think it’s still looking pretty good. I like the antique white porcelain look.

 

[webby3650]

I’d say there’s a real good reason why they don’t make pure white.

 

[TWilk117]

I intended to go with Stove bright, but they don't offer pure white, which is what katie wanted. Thanks, all for the suggestions. I like the idea of putting the paint on clean steel and heating it to see if it sticks and stays white.
the stove had stove black on it, but I figured that scrubbing it with soap and water until the water ran clear and then heating the cast iron would have been good enough. there were places on the stove that were just rust and the paint has come off those places, too. before and after pictures below. You can see that the stove was bare steel is the place where the paint has come off the most. The yellowing can be seen, too.

What in the world is the thing in the background with the bricks and oil drum stack?

 

[ray milosh]

What in the world is the thing in the background with the bricks and oil drum stack?

That is a rocketstove. It is a homemade woodstove that is super efficient and very clean burning. I made it last winter to heat the garage. There is tons of research on them and I could talk about them for days, but this is a thread about woodstove paint...

 

[TWilk117]

Gotcha. That’s what I thought it is. I’ve read about them on permies.com forum.

 

[ray milosh]

There is a better picture of the rocketstove. It heats the 1500 ft2 shop quickly and it heats water that is circulated to the hydronic pipes in the floor. I put it on wheels so it can be rolled to the corner during summer.