Could someone give me ideas on how to paint a rusty fridge please. Any kind of advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Hello @eriswa
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's fabulous to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about painting your fridge.
Before I make any recommendations, would it be possible for you to post a few photos of your fridge? This will allow our members to assess your fridge's condition. We can then make recommendations on how to proceed. Generally speaking, if it is just light rust on the body, I suggest sanding that area with some sandpaper and applying some White Knight 0.125L Rust Guard Rust Converter.
However, if it is serious rust damage we'll definitely have to see what it looks like. If you need assistance posting the photos, please let me know.
Eric
Hi Eric, thanks for your reply.
It's an old faithful Westinghouse Freezer(Australian made) we've had for 35+ years just as a spare in the garage. There's a bit of rust around the handle and very light spots on the front door, one side of the fridge and same on top, nothing major. I'll try and post some pics from my phone later.
Front of FridgeTop of Fridge
Hi Eric
Just posted some photos of my Freezer.
Cheers
Thank you very much for posting those photos of your fridge. It seems you are at the very early stages of rust development. I suggest washing the top and front of the fridge with a washcloth along with soap and water. Then wipe it with Selleys Sugar Soap Wall Cleaning Wipes - 25 Pack. Your goal is to remove all the wax, oils and debris that's attached to the fridge.
Once you've fully dried off the fridge, I suggest using Bondall 250ml Ranex Rustbuster Rust Converter. Make sure to give the rust converter enough time to work before wiping it off. Generally, I would recommend sanding the surface of the fridge but it looks like you are still able to do a touch-up of the surface.
I suggest using White Knight 300g Gloss Appliance White Paint And Prime. This is an all-in-one product and can be sprayed directly onto the surface of the fridge. Please note that the white finish will be different from your current refrigerator colour. I suggest masking those areas you don't want the spray paint to go on to.
Here is a handy step-by-step guide: How to paint window frames ( the techniques used are applicable to your fridge project. )
If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.
I was going to paint the whole freezer. It doesn't have to be perfect as it's sitting in the garage.
I'll follow your instructions and probably lightly sand it right back and use the paint you suggested. Would one can be sufficient to do the whole freezer?
As for the rusty bits, I have a bottle of White Knight Rust Guard(TREAT highlighted) Rust Converter. Would that be OK if I was to rub it back (just the rusty bits) with wet & dry and apply the Rust Converter before painting?
Hope this all make sense to you.
One can of paint will be more than enough to cover your fridge. It's great that you've got some White Knight Rust Guard left, that will be perfect for treating those little rust spots on the fridge. It's ok to sand down those spots that are really bad, just make sure to touch it up with the White Knight before you paint it. Please remember to give it a good clean before you start painting.
Thanks Eric, I'll send you a photo when all is done.
Hi Eric, went to bunnings today to get the White Knight 300g gloss appliance white paint and primer. Is it silver as it had Silver on the can with a Silver lid. The sales person said she hasn't got a white one with primer. There was one WK white paint but not with primer. Cheers
Hi @eriswa,
@EricL advised using White Knight 300g Gloss Appliance White Paint And Prime. It doesn't appear to have silver on the can or silver on the lid. There is also Dulux 300g White Duramax Appliance Spray Paint which would be suitable. It doesn't have the primer in it, and you should use Dulux Duramax 340g Flat Metal Primer on the bare metal areas before the topcoat.
Was it the Dulux 300g Duramax Appliance Silver Spray Paint you picked up? If so, that one definitely is silver spray paint.
If you can post a picture of the product you purchased, then we'll be able to determine if it is white or not.
Mitchell
Hi Mitchell
It was WK Appliance paint as I described and it definitely had Silver on the front of the can and had a silver lid, I'll take a photo next time I go to Bunnings in Wangara. The lady who assisted us said she didn't think WK Appliance white came with primer and also she couldn't find any in stock. My wife was with me and we were both confused so we didn't buy one before I posted on here again.
That certainly sounds a bit confusing. All the White Knight appliance paints have a primer included, it might not be written on the can, but it's in its name "Paint And Prime".
I've just spoken with a helpful Bunnings Wangara paint shop team member by the name of Karen. Currently, they have both silver and white on the shelf. Perhaps the white was out of stock when you visited, but they're both sitting right next to each other now, and the white is easily identified.
I apologise for the confusion, and please let me know if you need further assistance.
HI Mitchell, thanks for the info and going to all that trouble. I'll be popping in to your Joondalup store this week and get one. Cheers
It's fantastic that my colleague @MitchellMc has sorted out the confusion on the availability of the appliance paint.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Hi Eric I still haven't started on the fridge yet as I haven't been to Bunnings yet, other DIY's keep popping up. With the Bondall 250ml Ranex Rustbuster Rust Converter, do I need to apply that to the whole fridge and how? I'm going to start on the rusty parts along the handle by rubbing it down and applying the White Knight Rust Converter which I already have, Just not sure how to apply the Ranex. Do I use normal sandpaper or Wet & Dry(I have 180 W&D).
Using the 180 W&D is too rough for the fridge and will damage its finish. I suggest using Flexovit 100mm x 1m 400 Grit Wet And Dry Sandpaper Roll. Just keep in mind the higher the number of the sandpaper the finer the grit. Lower numbers mean that it is very rough and will take chunks out of whatever you're sanding.
If you already have the White Knight rust converter there is no need for you to use the Bondall Ranex product. They do exactly the same thing.
Here is a link to the White Knight rust converter: White Knight application instructions.
HI Mitchell, I got a can of WK paint for the fridge and it doesn't say Paint and Prime like you mentioned. Nothing on the can saying it has a primer. Attaching a photo of the can I bought.
You'll find the application instructions on the White Knight website. However, they do look like they've updated the can's graphics. There is no mention of a primer in the application steps.
The product name on the Bunnings website is where it mentions the product is paint and prime. Before you use the product, just make sure there is no mention of primer under the application instructions on the can.
It doesn't mention primer on the can at all but it does say suitable on bare metal and original fridge paint. I've had to rub back the bad rusty spots to bare metal and I'm not sure if I should be using this paint. Can you suggest any other brand that has a primer or should I just get a separate primer and use the WK paint that I purchased?
If you've rubbed back the rusty spots to bare metal, you're ready to apply the paint according to the instructions. If a separate primer is required, it would state it in the instructions. Not all paints require primers as they include bonding agents within the paint.
After the weekend, I'd be happy to contact White Knight for you to confirm that a separate primer is not required. I can't advise using a separate primer at this stage, as it would contradict their instructions. I'd also be concerned about the compatibility of the primer with their product.
Thanks Mitchell
I'll wait for your reply before I go any further.
Many thanks for your patience, @eriswa.
I've been able to confirm that unless you're painting the whole panel of a fridge that is currently bare metal, then there is no need to prime the area. If you are still at all concerned, you can use an SLS Etch Primer on the exposed metal portions.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks for doing that for me, very much appreciated.
cheers
Hi @eriswa
I'm glad you received excellent advice from my colleague @MitchellMc. You can't go wrong using SLS Etch Primer, it is formulated to give a very good surface for spray paint to bond onto.
Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your fridge freshly painted.
Thank you very much to both you and Mitchell for all your help and advice, will definitely keep you posted with the finished product.
HI Eric I finally finished the painting though the weather wasn't the best for it. I ended up using Rustoleum instead of WK, due to unfavourable reviews on WK. I ended up doing 4 coats as some of the very bad rust spots I rubbed back didn't cover. I started a 5th on one side and and it bubbled in a few spots so I stopped doing the rest. I sanded it back and left it as it is, quite happy with the overall result though. Being a spare in the garage so I wasn't too fussed.
Sending you some pictures. Thanks once again. Cheers
Thank you very much for posting those photo updates of your fridge. Your spray painting looks good and the fridge looks brand new again. Wrinkling is often caused by unequal drying during the painting process. From the surface, it looks like the paint is, but underneath that dry surface, the paint is still wet. When a new coat is applied the semi-dry paint moves as it continues to dry causing wrinkling to occur.
My only tip is to give the paint a few extra days to dry off, one of the best ways to tell is to gently touch the surface of the paint and if it feels like it's sinking the paint underneath is still wet. Don't be tempted to use a hairdryer or a heat gun as these tools will only dry off the surface and not cure the paint underneath.
Again, thank you for sharing your fridge painting project.
I've lightly sanded back the wrinkling as you called it and left it as it is, it doesn't look too bad. I'm not going to repaint it at the moment, maybe later on down the track when the weather gets a bit warmer.
It's only sitting in the garage and I'm quite happy with the final result.
I totally agree with your plans, unfortunately, this cold weather is really not ideal for any sort of painting as it really delays the drying time.
We look forward to seeing your next project.
