# Painting a Wood Stove? Other than black?



## Poult (Feb 29, 2008)

Just wondering if anyone has done this and how it turned out.

I went to the stove dealer yesterday and bought the Quadra-fire Isle Royale.  Thanks to everyone for that advice, btw.  It's everything that I want in a stove.  The only regret I have was that they only offer the enamel in one colour.  The room the stove is going in is already a dark room, and while I kind of like a classic black stove, this is the one place where something lighter might have been nice.

So the dealer whipped out a paint chip card for Stove Bright paints and said "you can always paint it something else".

My gut instinct says "mistake" on this, but would like to run it by you guys before dismissing the idea entirely.  I'm not thinking about something really light coloured, in any case, but something along the lines of a slate blue:  Just something that is lighter than a flat black.

BTW, I got the stove for 10% off for end of season, and the salesman said the next stoves in will be up 10% for the next season.  So if anyone has been holding off thinking about buying a Quadra-Fire, you might be wanting to do it now.  The display floor price on the one here (Northern NYS) was $2249, and I got it with added warming shelves on the sides for $2342 ($168 of that was local and state tax).


Poult


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## sixminus1 (Feb 29, 2008)

Poult said:
			
		

> Just wondering if anyone has done this and how it turned out.
> 
> I went to the stove dealer yesterday and bought the Quadra-fire Isle Royale.  Thanks to everyone for that advice, btw.  It's everything that I want in a stove.  The only regret I have was that they only offer the enamel in one colour.  The room the stove is going in is already a dark room, and while I kind of like a classic black stove, this is the one place where something lighter might have been nice.
> 
> ...



I've never done my own paint on a stove, but I just ordered a Jotul with their "Iron" finish because I had the same concern about it being flat black.  The color is significantly lighter than the matte black, but it's not outlandishly light, either.  Inspection of the unit shows that the factory truly did just spray it with paint -- the pallet that it was delivered on shows a lot of overspray.

I would imagine that you can paint it whatever color you want, so long as you're using a high-temperature paint that's designed for stoves.  Obviously, make sure you tape it up beforehand.


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## burntime (Feb 29, 2008)

Used stovebright on my parents stove...thiers was blue.  They were going to retire it and I changed it to tan.  Make sure you spray in fresh air.  I almost passed out and then read the can and it can cause damage to the nervous system...no joke!  Pait stinks a little the first time to cure then let 'er rip


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## Poult (Feb 29, 2008)

Thanks for the replys.   It might be something I'll have to try, after all.  At least I'll think about it some more!

Poult


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## narutojp (Mar 1, 2008)

Speaking of other colors, this story was in the news recently regarding the new popularity of wood stoves in Japan.
www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080224TDY03301.htm

Sorry there's no picture.  But a red octopus wood stove would be a real conversation starter!


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## swestall (Mar 1, 2008)

I had a Comforter stove back in the 80's; it came with that lite blue color. I loved it and repainted it several times. We also painted a couple of other stoves that color. I think the key is to paint a color that looks good flat. When they cure they all turn to a flat look. Green, Blue, Tan, Black; ?


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## begreen (Mar 1, 2008)

Mr. honey brown 30HC should be stopping in soon. As long as you do a nice paint job and use the correct paint, it should turn out fine. 

But one warning, Stove Brite paints are acetone based. You want to wear the best organic vapor mask you can find when painting this. That paint melts brain cells pretty quickly. Also, do a test in the back of the stove first to be sure the original stove paint is completely compatible with the Stove Brite paint. Wait until it dries to be sure it doesn't do anything odd like aligatoring.


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## Jimbob (Mar 1, 2008)

And here's another company:
http://www.stovepaint.com/Products/Products.asp?id=22


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## Jimbob (Mar 1, 2008)

http://www.stovepaint.com/Content.asp?id=33


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## DriftWood (Mar 1, 2008)

They are painted black for a good reason. A body that emits the maximum amount of heat for its absolute temperature is called a black body. Radiant heat transfer rate from a black body to its surroundings can be expressed by the following equation.
Q = б AT^4

where:

Q = heat transfer rate (Btu/hr)

б = Stefan-Boltzman constant (0.174 Btu/hr-ft^2-°R^4)

A = surface area (ft^2)

T = temperature (°R) (unit is in Kelvin)

Two black bodies that radiate toward each other have a net heat flux between them. The net flow rate of heat between them is given by an adaptation of Equation.

Q = б A (T1^4 – T2^4 )

where:

A = surface area of the first body (ft^2)

T1 = temperature of the first body (°R)

T2 = temperature of the second body (°R)

All bodies above absolute zero temperature radiate some heat. The sun and earth both radiate heat toward each other. This seems to violate the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states that heat cannot flow from a cold body to a hot body. The paradox is resolved by the fact that each body must be in direct line of sight of the other to receive radiation from it. Therefore, whenever the cool body is radiating heat to the hot body, the hot body must also be radiating heat to the cool body. Since the hot body radiates more heat (due to its higher temperature) than the cold body, the net flow of heat is from hot to cold, and the second law is still satisfied.  

Physicists calculate how much light a perfectly emitting object would give off at a given temperature, and then they multiply that by a number between 0 and 1. objects that are black at room temperature are close to 1, objects that are shiny or white are close to 0. That’s because to conserve energy, the best absorbers (those looking black) have to be the best emitters.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/Stainless_Steel/


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## eernest4 (Mar 1, 2008)

Poult said:
			
		

> Just wondering if anyone has done this and how it turned out.
> 
> I went to the stove dealer yesterday and bought the Quadra-fire Isle Royale.  Thanks to everyone for that advice, btw.  It's everything that I want in a stove.  The only regret I have was that they only offer the enamel in one colour.  The room the stove is going in is already a dark room, and while I kind of like a classic black stove, this is the one place where something lighter might have been nice.
> 
> ...





Poult , here is the web site for www.stovebright.com  so that you don't have to buy from the dealer.

also, a more direct link is 
http://forrestpaint.com/SB-paintgroup.html


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## eernest4 (Mar 1, 2008)

burntime said:
			
		

> Used stovebright on my parents stove...thiers was blue.  They were going to retire it and I changed it to tan.  Make sure you spray in fresh air.  I almost passed out and then read the can and it can cause damage to the nervous system...no joke!  Pait stinks a little the first time to cure then let 'er rip



Dear burntime:

                    Did you do any prep work on the stove before you painted it?
Like maybe sand the finish a bit or prime the stove or was all that work unnecessary because the stove already had a flat finish & so all you did was spray away?

Its nice to know what to plan for before you get started, so i would appreciate any painting tips you might wish to share.

 I have 3 ugly black stoves & ugly just don't do them justice, its far too weak a word.

I mean that these stoves fell from the very tip top of the ugly tree & hit every single branch, leaf & twig on the way down, without missing a one, & their appearance reflects it.

I think it has something to do with my built in reluctance to buy a top end stove.
I always buy the ugly black box that overheats the neighbor's house across the street.

 ;-P 

So,I was thinking about some complementary accenting in bright colors.

Also, some dolling up might add a couple of hundered to the resale value, unelse I hit someone just like me; in which case he subtract a couple of hundered because the paint isn't factory original.
But,I don't have to deal with the likes of me, if i don't want to.
Wait a minute now,I resemble that remark. ;-P


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## drizler (Mar 1, 2008)

Painting any metal item is pretty straight forward  just think car.   They have been being protected and subjected to the worst type environments for over 100 years.  Were it me I would do to the nearest NAPA or DUPONT auto parts store that sells refinishing goodies to the industry.     There are header paints that are good to 1700 F .    You can get various colors which are used for painting headers and exhaust manifolds.    The price isn't bad either.    
   Painting 101 dictates CLEAN.    You should clean hell out of it wherever it is being painted.   Painting 101 also dictates ROUGH, get the shine knocked off of it so it will be able to stick.   Using some very fine sand paper on the places that are shiny.    Once its all nice and dull wipe it down well using thinner.  Once its all clean and dry from the thinner make sure you use regular masking tape to cover any glass ect you want to mask off.   Pros use special paper but I have painted many cars using newspaper and it works just fine.   
Painting 101 and one of the most important parts is SHAKE THE CAN FOR A COUPLE MINUTES JUST LIKE THEY SAY.  You will look stupid but guess what, it takes all that shaking to get it fully stirred.    I did it the other way for about 25 years and came to hate rattle can paint until I read a professional article on it.   Guess what the author was right do exactly what the can says and it works pretty well.  Put it on in light coats overlapping slightly.   It will take at least a few coats.   Those cans with the fancy top that shoots a primitive fan really do work better if you aren't the best painter in the world.    Look for them if you can get them, the guy at the counter will know what you mean.   When done upend the can and spray till its clear just like they say and it likey wont be plugged later on.      You can get a darned nice finish on something using a rattlecan if you take your time and do it right.   Its not as good as a spray gun because it lacks the control and atomization but if done carefully it can work really well.
Any questions would be well directed to this forum ans these guys know their painting and aren't too grumpy.  
http://autobodystore.com/ms5.shtml http://autobodystore.com/ms5.shtml


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