The Steamboating Forum

I've got a 20 year old boiler with the original black iron dome and stack. What are the options to improve the appearance? Are brass stacks available or practical? What do others do to improve their stack appearance?

I'm looking forward to what is suggested. My stack is heavy gauge stainless steel which A: looks like something out of a butcher's shop and B: weighs a ton.

If I have a new one rolled up out of lighter gauge steel I will probably paint it but I'd like to do better than rattle can barbecue paint.

Has anyone had any experience with high temperature powder coating? Gloss color would be nice.

Imron paint.

It really nasty to apply. It's a sticky two part. But if you inhale the one part and cough your lung could collapse! My boiler from LundMachine Works came with it. Jeff Lund applied it.

It has a a nice black with a gloss to it and is very durable and handles the heat. Doesn't take direct flames so the firebox inside is not coated with it.

-CB

I'll look into Imron. I used it on my sailboat mast but didn't remember anything about it having any ability to handle heat.

Yeah, the solvents are rude. Wore a serious respirator when I was shooting it.

I wrapped mine in brass sheet.... but ya GOTTA keep them polished then! rp

Horrors!

I have just enough brass on the boat to make me feel virtuous when I get around to polishing it up. More, I do not need.

I mean, how much brass caught your eye on the African Queen?

Just to be clear, Nyitra's boiler only has the bonnet or smoke-hood/smoke box painted with Imron (as well as most of the boiler) - but not the stove pipe part of the stack.

This was it new, you can see the gloss.





-CB

Otter's stack is titanium ($28 from Boeing Surplus many years ago).
This can be customized by either a stack fire or a blow torch to get all sorts of nice colors .

A more practical suggestion is to measure stack temps next time you're steaming, and
pick spray enamel suitable for the observed temps. Rustoleum makes suitable paints
for both 550 F and 2000 F; the colors on the latter are limited and these are both intermittent values.

Imron recommended continuous service temp. is 200 F.

Single layer stacks are much hotter than double layer, of course.

- Bart

I wonder what sort of prep it would take to make barbecue paint or the Rustoleum stuff stick to my existing S.S. stack? Do you remember if the Rustoleums were available in gloss?

Lopez Mike wrote:I wonder what sort of prep it would take to make barbecue paint or the Rustoleum stuff stick to my existing S.S. stack? Do you remember if the Rustoleums were available in gloss?

Something called a wash primer is what's recommended, but finding a high temp. formulation is hard. I'd hand sand w/ 400 grit wet, degrease, etch w/ phosphoric acid (e.g. metal prep) and wash surface clean (no finger prints) , then apply suitable high temp Rustoleum on the bare metal.

If you have a sand blaster w/ clean media (no iron) it will work well, too.

- Bart