Cleaning Exterior of stove prior to painting?

What type of cleaning solvent would be best to clean the exterior of a used Harman Mark type stove prior to painting it?

I found a nice stove used and want to paint it prior to install.

Thanks.

I would just wipe it down with acetone or laquer thinner. If you have a rusty spots a wire brush or sandpaper properly applied will prep the surface. Use High Temp paint if you can.

What size Mark did you find??

Greg L

I painted my stove in spring....I used the green sanding fabric pads...and course steel wool in the ruff areas...wiped down with denatured alcohol and used a hi-temp paint....Be prepared for some smoke off from the paint..best bet is to lite it off in the morning and on a nice day that you can have some windows open .....after the paint smokes off..you are set....

Al

Good point AL, if anyone who occupies the house has any repiratory problems I'd be careful about the fumes from the paint.

I'd be tempted to light it off out in the driveway for an hour or two. I have asthma, and I'd hate to smell the volitiles from the baked paint in the house. It would really give me problems.

AL, did you use any particular high temp paint??

Greg L

Thanks guys,

I picked some acetone, steel wool, replacement gaskets and paint from Harman. Going out in the garage to work on it now. When I put the gaskets on should I use high temp silicone like you would use for connecting exhaust pipe or stove cement?

Greg, I found a nice Mark I with brass trim. Instead of heating the whole house and all the associated work I would have I'm going to just heat my downstairs and use oil for upstairs.

Are you going to put it in the kitchen where you had that wood burner before?? Using the same chimney? Make sure the chimney is clean of creosote.

The Mark I may be the perfect stove for the kitchen, certainly not too large. And maybe still put that vent in the upper wall into the upstairs hallway with fan, could add a lot of comfort to the upstairs.

Let us know how it works out, a photo of it installed in your kitchen in the 'pictues of your stove' thread would be great.

High temp silicone will work, stove cement often doesn't stick too well. I've not had any problems with silicone.

Take care. Greg L

Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it. Its nice to get input from everyone here, what a great resource for coal burners.

Greg, what do I need to install into my chimney? It has no liner, just the original brick, which is sound. I want to put in a stainless steel flexible liner. I will cut in the thimble and mortar it in but I really don't have a good understanding of how the liner will connect to the thimble and the top of the chimney. Do I need a clean out? A T-fitting at the thimble? Etc. How do I reach in through the thimble and secure it once I get the liner down the chimney. Or do I pull the liner up the chimney? I have easy access to the top of the chimney. It has a piece of slate atop built up bricks on two sides of the chimney with the other two sides open. Do I have to level it off or is this workable with certain kits?

Thanks in advance.

I personally wouldn't install a SS liner yet. You may not ever need to install a liner. As long as the chimney is sound, I would go ahead and use it.
Is your chimney in an interior wall or exterior?

You said it has the original brick lining?? Not a square or rectangular terracotta or clay tube?? As long as the mortor in the brick is sound, it should work fine. If you have concerns about the mortor joints then maybe a liner should be considered.

A coal chimney burning anthracite doesn't need much of a clean out. The chimney will only have a very thin layer of dust that will adhere to the rough brick or flue liner joints. Only the horizontal pipe sections need an ocassional cleaning.

Does the pipe exit your Mark I from the top or rear of the stove?? If from the rear, you can put an elbow or a tee to direct the air up. If you use a tee you can cap the bottom and use it as an ash collector. I doubt that you will get much ash in the collector.

Does your chimney have a cleanout door at base, near the floor?? Most do have a small 6"x6" door. this is all that is needed. Antharcite burns so clean that with a Mark I size stove you probably won't see more than a quart can of ashes all year in the cleanout.

If you do install a liner, There are several connectors made to make the corner. One type is a tee with the leg that comes in from the side attached with a clamp [like a long hose clamp] around the verticle section. the horizontal piece is held in place, with the long hose clamp opened to as large a diameter as possible, the vertical pipe is fed down the chimney through the open loop of hose clamp, then the clamp is tightened.

I'd just cut the hole for the thimble, fit a nice adapter, and put two elbows and a verticle section of pipe in and fire it up.

By the way, galvanized pipe is usually thinner [26 or 28 ga.] and the galvanizing gives off noxious fumes when heated. I'd use heavier black pipe, it usually is 22ga..

I think I covered all the questions. I'm sitting in a hotel room with time on my hands, so ask away with any other questions.

Check your PM's

Greg L

Greg..

The paint I used is called Stove Brite....I tried the Rustoleum before and was not happy...the Stove Brite is the same paint Harman uses and gives much better results....comes in colors also....I did the Harman in black..and the Alaska in green and black....and holding up good...also I noticed that Stove Brite did not smoke as much as others...


Al

Al,

I used the Stove Brite also, in charcoal color. Went on very nice and looks great.

The brass on the unit was pretty neglected and is proving difficult to clean. I am using 'Metal Master Easy Cut' cleaner. Looks a lot better but there are still areas of staining that don't want to come out.

One more photo.

Hi Townsend, you might try a couple of fairly strong solutions I've used to clean brass and copper. You need to wear gloves and removing the door from the stove first might be a good idea.

One product I've used is Lysol liquid toilet bowl cleaner. Just rub it on with either a cloth and leave it wet to 'work' or use some very fine steel wool like a sponge. 0000 grade steel wool.

The other product is CLR found in most wally-worlds and a homekeeping section of grocery stores. CLR stand for Calcium Lime Rust. It is a solution of mild buffered acids that will disolve those items given time. I use CLR for cleaning out coffee makers when they get real slow with my morning coffee.

With either product I'd try them on the bottom of the door first just to see how well they work. If I remember both of the solutions turn the brass a bit red colored, but this pollished out fairly easily.

I've had some luck using the automobile tire white-wall cleaner product called 'Bleuche-White'. I think that spelling is close. It is good for removing the brake-dust stains off of polished wheels on my cars and trucks. It also may remove some of the stains on your brass door.

Let us know if you try any of the above, and how effective they were.

Greg L