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PaintHome Decorating
hannahlw40

Peeling Zinsser 123 on radiator

hannahlw40
3 years ago

Please help! I thought I'd done everything correctly in preparation to paint my radiator. Vacuumed it, lightly sanded and cleaned with sugar soap. Then I've just applied a coat of Zinsser 123 to prime it (not previously painted but read advise it was best to prime). It's been 4 hours and the primer is scratching off under my nail, like rubber. To touch, it feels like there's a film over it too. I've read you can paint over it in an hour but then I've also read on forums it'll take 7 days to cure. I've never had a problem with BIN but this 123 is really letting me down. Any advice?

Comments (7)

  • Sonia
    3 years ago

    I’ve never used that paint but it sounds like it’s not ready for the next coat. Despite what the tin says, in my experience a lot of paints take days to harden properly. Leave it a few days and don’t scrape it with your nail!

  • rachelmidlands
    3 years ago

    Might be a silly question but is your heating on? Or is this radiator switched off?

  • hannahlw40
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    The radiator has been off all day and still is. 10 hours later and it's still scratching off. I've tried a bit of BIN in the inside of the cover. That scratched after an hour too.

  • rachelmidlands
    3 years ago

    Hmmm 🤔. I’ve used zinsser 123 many times, even on plastic but never tried it on a radiator mind. It does create a kind of film as essentially that’s its job. Did you wipe off with damp cloth after cleaning with sugar soap? How are you applying it? Brush or roller? Fairly thick coat or thin?
    Lots of questions I know, sorry. Just helps me understand what’s going on.
    Regardless tho, what I would do is sand back this layer with medium, fine grade sandpaper then put another coat of primer on and don’t touch it for a day. Then paint with final product and leave this to cure for a few days before putting heating back on.

  • hannahlw40
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    I didn't clean the sugar soap off with fresh water. I wiped down with a cloth that I'd dampened with the same sugar soap water. Maybe that was my downfall. Thin coat with a brush. I'm worried if I try to sand back it's going to be really patchy unless I try to get every last bit off which I dont know if that's possible. Thanks for your feedback.

  • rachelmidlands
    3 years ago

    No worries 😉. Maybe the sugar soap is why it’s having a tendency to peel. No need to sand all the paint off, just a quick going all over and just enough to smooth the rough bits out. Damp wipe after sanding, microfibre cloths are great for this. The sanding should help to provide a key for the primer to stick although Zinsser 123 usually doesn’t need it but in this case I think it will help. When dry add another coat of primer then as said let dry for a day then final top coat/s. If you wanted to dry a different primer then maybe an all purpose automotive spray primer might work. I’d need to research that mind.
    Anyway Hope this works for you.

  • hannahlw40
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    That doesn't sound so bad, thanks for taking the time to explain.

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