As you may have seen in my earlier post, the metal baseboard heat covers have now been refinished.  An attempt was made to put up the ceiling fan, but although my husband thought he had changed out the bracket already, he hadn’t.  Due to this, work is limited to the daylight hours right now, since he had already removed the old light fixture.  This is not a big deal because I am participating in a Glidden/Walmart blogger program, to makeover my daughter’s playroom.  I have plenty to do.

Yesterday, I did get back in the bedroom.  I had picked up some molding at the home improvement store, and cut and installed it around the windows in my bay.  I managed to get them caulked and painted , as well.  I case you are wondering, additional trim had to be added to the windows since someone (don’t look at me) ordered the windows a little small.  I actually think it looks pretty cool with the extra detail, but curtains will cover it anyway.

We have a hurricane coming this weekend, so I doubt much will get done over the the next few days.  Hopefully my flooring will come in for the playroom, so I can get that down.  I would like to get that project squared away before putting leveler down to prep the bedroom floor for laminate.

I have been stashing things aside for this room for a few years.  This wall mounted bust is something I got from my mother, she had it hanging in her parlour for many years.

This bed and a few others like it, have caught my eye.  The plan is for the bed to go up against the curtains of the bay window.

While I am by no means in love with metal baseboard heat covers, they are after all rather ugly, changing out heating systems is very costly.  Painting baseboard heat covers can spruce them up though, and help them to blend in with your design scheme.  They were not in particularly bad condition in my house when we bought it, a few specks of rust here & there, some scratches and splotches, but they certainly needed a makeover.  I thought I would share the refinishing process with you, in case you also have metal baseboard heating covers that need to be repainted.

Painting Baseboard Heat Covers

Prepping the Surface for Painting

Step one is to completely disassemble the covers.  If there are a lot of pieces you may wish to label each piece on a non visible while assembled spot, so you will know where they go when it is time to but everything back together.

Sand the pieces lightly with 100 grit sandpaper. No need to be fussy in the sanding, you are just trying to sand off and rust, and give the finish a little tooth.  If you have more rust, you may want to use a heavier grit in those areas, to get it off.

If the covers are really grungy you may want to wash them down before sanding, but this shouldn’t be necessary in most cases.

Washing the baseboards down with a TSP solution (follow package directions) after sanding.  This will wash off any residue, as well as the dust from sanding.

Wipe the TSP solution off with paper towels, to ensure all the sanding dust is off.  A clean surface is essential.

Painting the Covers

I use a semi-gloss oil paint without primer.  The paint is thinned down a little with paint thinner to glide on smoothly (10-20% thinner).  This is the same technique we have used on other baseboard heat covers in the house, and the finish has withstood the test of time without issue.  Make sure to use a good oil or all purpose paint brush.

To get a nice consistent finish, two coats  of paint should be done.  Allow ample time between coats, to allow for drying.  After second coat make sure to let the pieces dry well before reassembly.  If they are still tacky at all, you risk ruining the nice paint finish you have worked for.