# Repainting an enamel stove



## BrowningBAR (Nov 11, 2009)

Anyone done it? Is there a good thread on here that covers it? I want to repaint an enamel intrepid II. I would like to do a simple flat black. Any recommendations?


----------



## szmaine (Nov 11, 2009)

The enamel is still on it I assume, yes?

There is a stove restorer near me and they sand blast off the old enamel before painting. 
I can't imagine that you could go over it, if that's what you mean.


----------



## BrowningBAR (Nov 11, 2009)

szmaine said:
			
		

> The enamel is still on it I assume, yes?
> 
> There is a stove restorer near me and they sand blast off the old enamel before painting.
> I can't imagine that you could go over it, if that's what you mean.




I was wondering if I could take sand paper to it to give the paint a better surface to hold to.


----------



## szmaine (Nov 11, 2009)

I don't think so. I've done alot of painting through the years and the worst things to get paint to adhere to are slick surfaces -even if the material is wood and you're  going over a really slick hard paint as with cabinetry (even if you think you've prepped the surface really well) won't last long -just starts chipping off.

You could probably have it sand blasted fairly inexpensively....


----------



## Nonprophet (Nov 11, 2009)

I've never repainted an enamel stove, so any suggestions are pure speculation on my part.......

I think that you could paint over the existing enamel, IF you roughed it up really well with say 80 grit sandpaper on a random orbital sander.  I guess the question is how well the high-temperature stove paint will stick to the porceline enamel......

Thermolux gets consistantly great reviews for being a top-quality stove paint, maybe you could call them and ask them about painting over enamel?

Why are you painting it?  Is the existing enamel in bad shape (i.e. cracked/chipped)?  Or are you just wanting to change the color?  The reason I ask is that if the enamel is badly chipped, painting it will only moderately cover that up as the surface will still be uneven after painting....

FWIW, if you choose to go the sandblasting route, I just picked up a sand blasting gun at HD for $17.99  You need a compressor to run it (at least a 6 gallon) and you basically put the blasting medium (sand, beads, crushed walnut shells, etc.) into a 5 gallon bucket and then a feeder hose drops into the bucket and sucks the sand into the gun while you're using it.  I hooked it up the other day to test it before blasting an older Elm stove we just got--it actually worked pretty well!  You definitely NEED to be outdoors, need goggles, a face mask, and gloves, and it works best if the gun has ceramic tips as the force of the sand will ruin metal tips pretty quickly.

Let us know how it works out!


NP


----------



## BrowningBAR (Nov 11, 2009)

Nonprophet said:
			
		

> I've never repainted an enamel stove, so any suggestions are pure speculation on my part.......
> 
> I think that you could paint over the existing enamel, IF you roughed it up really well with say 80 grit sandpaper on a random orbital sander.  I guess the question is how well the high-temperature stove paint will stick to the porceline enamel......
> 
> ...




Initially there were some decent size chunks of enamel missing from the stove in various places. So, I was originally looking at enamel paint from VC (expensive, but I thought it would be the way to go). My concern was that the paint wouldn't be an exact match as the aged paint enamel on the stove probably discolored a bit over time. My father in-law suggested I go with stove spray paint. I was hesitant at first, but I liked the thought of spraying it on as I would be able to blend it better into the existing color (it was an incredibly close match, but there was a small color difference). Unfortunately the paint didn't hold well and with every use of the stove the paint flaked, cracked and chipped away with some of it discoloring and essentially burnt onto the stove.

Lesson learned. Move on and try to fix the problem.

So, my thought/question is to sand it down to create a surface the paint can hold onto and instead of stove spray paint use the brush on paint. I am ok with an uneven surface, and I feel the flat black would also work in my favor to hid some imperfections (I also like flat black stoves the best, so it works out).

I am willing to give the sandblasting a try, but that would be something I would tackle in the off-season. Right now, the mistake I made with the spray paint is staring me in the face and taunting me every time I walk by the stove. It is something I would like to take care of now, even if it means sandblasting repainting the stove again once it warms up.


----------



## 2gnospam (Nov 8, 2010)

BrowningBAR said:
			
		

> Anyone done it? Is there a good thread on here that covers it? I want to repaint an enamel intrepid II. I would like to do a simple flat black. Any recommendations?


I am looking at sandblasting and painting a chipped Intrepid II.  Do you ever complete this project?  What did you find out?

Thanks


----------



## BrowningBAR (Nov 8, 2010)

2gnospam said:
			
		

> BrowningBAR said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Sandblasting and painting is the answer. I was scheduled to have it done last month, but a few things came up. Still plan on doing it before christmas, though. Sandblasting will run me under $150. Probably closer to $100. I was then going to paint it as I was told stove polish will not 'take' on a stove that has been sandblasted.


----------



## begreen (Nov 8, 2010)

Which is the plan, paint or stove polish? They are different animals.


----------



## BrowningBAR (Nov 8, 2010)

BeGreen said:
			
		

> Which is the plan, paint or stove polish? They are different animals.




For me, I will try a spot of polish on the back of the stove to see if it absorbs. Rutland states the polish will not work on sand blasted cast iron. If it doesn't work, I'm breaking out the high temp paint.

I'm hoping the polish absorbs.


----------



## BrowningBAR (Nov 8, 2010)

Nonprophet said:
			
		

> I think that you could paint over the existing enamel, IF you roughed it up really well with say 80 grit sandpaper on a random orbital sander.  I guess the question is how well the high-temperature stove paint will stick to the porceline enamel......




Never mind. I forgot this was an old thread. Already answered it.


----------



## begreen (Nov 8, 2010)

Maybe go ahead an paint it to fill in all the little casting sand grain pores? Then break in the paint job and stove polish next year?


----------



## BrowningBAR (Nov 8, 2010)

BeGreen said:
			
		

> Maybe go ahead an paint it to fill in all the little casting sand grain pores? Then break in the paint job and stove polish next year?



That might be a plan. It will probably depend upon how the stove looks when it returns. I used the polish on the Vigilant and the break-in/smell wasn't that bad. We'll see if I have the third stove hooked up by then. If I do, then I could deal with breaking in new paint/polish.


----------

