Wood Stove Restoration

[jjfrench]

I have a brassflame wood stove that isn't in terrible shape but could use some sprucing up. I was going to buff it and try and get all the rust off then apply a coat of Imperial Stove Polish to it, but when I went to buff the metal and get all the surface rust off of it, a coating, almost like a paint or powder coat, started to come off, exposing what looks like just normal steel. Theres some surface rust that has made it through the coating, but I am not sure how to get it off without going through the coating. The bare steel also doesn't blacken from the polish like normal coast iron seems to do.

Has anyone had this problem or know of some ways to deal with it?

 

[BillBurns]

You could try lightly using an SOS pad on it. I use it on cast iron skillets that have surface rust. Might be worth a try.

 

[bholler]

I have a brassflame wood stove that isn't in terrible shape but could use some sprucing up. I was going to buff it and try and get all the rust off then apply a coat of Imperial Stove Polish to it, but when I went to buff the metal and get all the surface rust off of it, a coating, almost like a paint or powder coat, started to come off, exposing what looks like just normal steel. Theres some surface rust that has made it through the coating, but I am not sure how to get it off without going through the coating. The bare steel also doesn't blacken from the polish like normal coast iron seems to do.

Has anyone had this problem or know of some ways to deal with it?

Just sand or wire wheel it down to bare metal clean it with alcohol or lacquer thinner then paint with a high quality stove paint. Forget the stove polish.

 

[MongoMongoson]

I do not recommend using stove polish on steel. It works well for cast iron, not super well for steel.

I did it... twice, on two different stoves. I ended up having to clean it off so I could do the right thing and paint those stoves with high temp paint.

Cleaning polish off with solvents is mess and is smelly.

If you decide to paint it, don't worry about taking the coating off, just wire brush, wire wheel, or use abrasive pads. Paint works great on bare steel.

Sounds like you already applied some polish. Clean that off before you do anything else. It has wax in it, so you could conceivably spread that wax around the surface while using abrasive. Paint does not stick well to wax.