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How to Paint a Wood Stove

Our wood stove was looking a little rough. My husband likes to put a kettle of water on it to “add more humidity” to the air but he also spills it on the stove while refilling plus the humidity during the summer months in our downstairs is a bit much which leads to rust.

Wood Stove with rush damage

So it was time to get rid of the rust and paint it to look like new!

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Painting Wood Stove Supplies:

Wood Stove with rust damage

How I Painted the Wood Stove

I first gave any spots a sanding with fine steel wool. I kept the shop vac going as while I did it cut down on dust/rust particles. But since I only had fine steel wool it didn’t work great to remove the rust.

removing rust from our wood stove with steel wool

I then used a rag and to spread vinegar over the rust and scraped the rust spots with a wire brush which worked great but didn’t get it down enough that it felt smooth so I went to 60 grit sandpaper and that worked great!

Using vinegar to remove rust on a wood stove

I sanded until it felt smooth to the touch.

I wiped everything down with a damp rag and let it dry.

Holding a can of rustoleum high heat paint.

Once dry I used a paint brush to paint a thin coat of the Rust-oleum High Heat Paint on. FYI – it smells. I had windows open and a fan blowing and because of the smell I waited until the next day to do a second coat while the kids were at school.

wood stove after its been painted flat black

I am so happy with the way it came out I looks better than it did when we purchased the stove.

Freshly painted wood stove in flat black

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Wood stove newly painted in flat black