How to spray paint a stove or flue pipe

Hold the can about 300 mm away.......several thin coats will give you a better finish......The spray paint can be easily warmed up by holding it in warm water......Before starting shake the can for at least 2 minutes.....

Our heat resistant spray paint comes in a wide variety of colours but by far the most popular colour is matt black. Many people spray their flue pipe with matt black heat resistant spray paint to match their stove. Our heat resistant spray paint is designed for working temperatures of up to 600 C.

You should not paint flue pipe before it is in place on the stove. This is because the paint goes through its final curing process when it gets hot. Until then it's easy to scratch so if you paint it before it's installed you are bound to scratch and mark it.

Make sure that the surfaces you are painting are clean, and free of dust, damp/moisture, grease, rust or dirt. It's hopefully obvious that the stove or flue pipe should not be hot when you spray it. Spray onto a bit of scrap or newspaper to start with as it is possible that there is unmixed paint in the tube - this will clear it out. It also lets you get a feel for how the spray comes out of the can. Hold the can about 300 mm away from the surface you are painting: any closer and the paint is likely to pool, any further away and the paint may dry before it hits the surface. Applying the paint in several thin coats will give you a much better finish than one thick coat.

Painting is best done at or above room temperature - around 20 C is ideal - the stove and flue pipe should be at this temperature too. If you've just brought them in from a cold place let them sit and come up to room temperature first. Do not spray if the temperature is below 5 C.

Before starting shake the can for at least 2 minutes. This is especially important for lighter shades of paint. If the can is cold you will need to warm it up. The can can be easily warmed up by holding it in warm water for a few minutes.

When you have finished using the heat resistant spray paint hold the can upside down and spray onto some scrap or a bit of newspaper. This will clear the nozzle and tube of spray leaving it clear for the next time you want to use it.

If you are painting a surface that has already been painted with heat resistant spray paint then only respray it once. Any more coats and the paint is liable to peel off. If you have to spray over a surface that has already been spray twice then you will need to strip off the old paint using sandpaper or a solvent.

the paint may steam a little as it cures and may also give off an odd smell. This is normal. Ventilate by opening windows and do make sure, on the second firing, that you get the stove nice and hot.

When you light the stove for the first few times the paint may steam a little as it cures and may also give off an odd smell. This is normal and we recommend that you ventilate the room during these firings until the smell no longer appears.

Problems with heat resistant spray paint

If the paint peels off or cracks then it is likely that you have applied to too thickly. If the paint comes off in big sheets then it is likely that you did not clean the surface well enough. If rust comes through the paint then it is likely that you did not clean the rust off well enough.

Painting twin wall flue pipe internally

The natural finish of the outer skin of our twin wall flue pipe is a satin stainless steel and if desired it can be painted using heat resistant spray paint where it passes through the internal part of the building.

Painting twin wall flue pipe externally

heat resistant spray paint can be used externally but is not that hard-wearing......we can supply twin wall flue pipe in a matt black powder coated finish.

Where the external portion of the twin wall chimney needs painting it should first be de-greased, given a key with wire wool, then a coat of etching primer should be applied, and finally apply a coat of suitable exterior paint like Hammerite or Smoothrite. If you do not want to do this on site then the relevant pipes can be taken to a car body paint shop. You can also have the flue powder coated. Remember to mask off the ends of the flue pipe and block the ends up so that paint cannot get inside the pipe.
Note where the chimney passes close to anything combustible it should not be painted.

But wait: you might not have to paint your twin wall flue. We carry matt black powder coated twin wall flue pipe in stock and it fits together with the stainless type too - so you could also decide to run some portions in stainless, some in matt black. The powder coated flue will be more durable and a better finish than it's likely that you will be able to achieve by hand painting. It costs a tiny bit more, but not that much more at all.