Refinishing, painting, or powder coating fireplace screens

A. Test with a magnet to see if they are non-magnetic solid brass (unlikely) or magnetic brass plated steel. If solid brass, they can be re-polished, although it may be a bigger job than you want to do yourself. If they are plated, the plating is probably worn through so your choices would be limited to sending them to a plating shop for re-plating, or to paint them. Paint doesn't stick well to brass, so scrub them first with a scrub brush [on eBay or Amazon] and laundry detergent or trisodium phosphate [on eBay or Amazon], then use a Self-etching primer [on eBay or Amazon] to get some tooth. Then you can hopefully paint them with whatever color paint you wish. Good luck.

Regards,

A. Brass is not a hazardous material requiring collection; it's an alloy of copper and zinc, which are both essential micronutrients, not toxins. But it is not good for your lungs to breathe dusts or small particles of anything. Always wear at least a dust mask and eye protection when sanding anything whatsoever.
BBQ spray paint is fine as a topcoat [Krylon BBQ & Stove paint [affil links]], but paint sticks poorly to brass even if it is sanded, so try a self-etching primer first. And again, the painter's mask -- you don't want your lung sacs coated with even a little bit of black paint :-)

Best,

A. Hi, Valerie.

Even made-for-purpose blackstove paint [on eBay or Amazon] smokes for the first couple of fires, but I don't think that paint on metal is a serious fire hazard. Once the solvents have evaporated there isn't much flammable material left on the surface. But I'm not sure the look will hold up well considering the heat, and possibility of smoke and creosote stains.

Still, rattle cans of paint are cheap, so it's probably worth a try. (Krylon is a trade-name, and I think all similar metallic spray paints will react similarly regardless of brand).

Regards,

A. Hi Julie.

We appended your question to a thread on similar subjects. I think the cleaning with TSP and priming with self-etching primer as related to Sheila B would be applicable. But if you are sending it out for powder coating, inquire of the shop first because some won't accept responsibility if someone else has done the priming.

I do find it very hard to believe that it is gold plated though, unless it's a super-premium unit costing thousands of dollars. My bet is it's brass plated or has a gold-tone lacquer over nickel plating. Best of luck.

Regards,

A. Hi Shannon. You are calling it "copper", and I agree that the color is a copper tone. But please start by telling us whether it is magnetic or not as the first clue to what it actually is made of. Thanks.

Regards,

A. I thought I understood the pic, but I guess I don't. The bottom left, which seems illuminated and focused enough to see well, seems to show the copper with a nice "burnished in the high areas, dark in the recesses" look. Whereas the top left and the left-to-middle/top-to-middle areas look brightened like it was made of steel or was nickel plated or silver plated. And you say this is on top of the solid copper.

You could try scrubbing with a strong copper polish like Revere Copper and Stainless Polish or a mix of vinegar [in bulk on eBay or Amazon] and water mix to try to etch it, quickly rinse and dry it, and try your high temperature paint before it's had much chance to oxidize.

Let us know what happens.

Regards,

A. Hi Lin. Powder coating might not hold up to the heat of a wood fire. A possibility would be to hire a handyman to spray a high-heat engine enamel. It's not going to be quite the shiny smooth finish you get from real ceramic coating, but it might be okay.

Regards,

A. I did a restoration on a cone fireplace. The customer brought it in coated in a rustoleum type paint. I was able to strip the paint, but the ceramic or porcelain (they made cone fireplaces with both) would not strip. This was what we were hoping for, and did trials on a vent piece ahead of time. We blasted and coated the base with high heat black paint, and replaced all the fasteners and felt washers. It came out really good. The problem you may face with changing color is getting the ceramic/porcelain coating off. I don't know of a non-mechanical method of removal, which means you may put the metal in jeopardy. Coating over the original may be the best bet.

A lot of people convert these to gas or electric (I would go electric) because they were deemed unsafe to burn in. If you go electric you could probably get it powdercoated to the color you are looking for for a fraction of the cost of doing ceramic or porcelain.