How do I repaint the inside bottom of a microwave, that has begun to rust?
Tammie from Auburn, GA
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First clean it well with a steel wool pad and let it dry. Then use some Naval Jelly to convert the rust to iron phosphate. Iron Phospate is a stable oxide and won't break down. It will also protect the metal under it from oxidizing. When all rust has turned battleship gray, wash and let it dry.
After that you can use gray metal primer and automotive nick-filler to smooth over pockmarks left by the rusting. That is a bit time consuming, because you have to let it dry before sanding. Once you got the surface nice and smooth, give it one extra coat of primer and when that is good and dry, use a good quality, thin engine paint. That can stand the heat indefinitely. Epoxy or any thick paint won't last inside a microwave.
Two or three coats of that will provide a good looking and easy to clean surface.
Have FUN!
DearWebby
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Is it safe to do this? If it is rusting, it must be old. Get a new one. I recently got a big 1100 watt one for less than $90. Does everything.
That "throw it away" mentality is what has brought our society to become so wasteful! Obviously a special type of paint is manufactured for use inside the microwave and it is commercially available.
I am with Knitter926! I personally wouldn't want to risk heating my food or beverages in a microwave that has been repainted inside when you don't know if the ingredients in the paint are safe for food using microwave radiation.
Am with deeli and Knitter926- not to mention the fact that the interior surface of a microwave is not a really "Paintable" surface. If not coated with a ceramic enamel interior, then most are either stainless steel or aluminum, coated with a plastic that does not absorb microwave energy ( Examples of polymers that do not absorb microwave energy are: polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene ).
If it has rusted through, and you only paint over that, you can subject yourself and your family to a whole lot of not good. I mean, Microwaves seams are welded shut for a reason, and paint not meant to ever be used in a microwave would not offer much protection, and could in fact lead to the metal beneath heating to conflagration-point.
Tammy, I hate to say this, but sounds as if you need a new microwave. Check FreeCycle and the "free" section at CraigsList. Most thrift shops these days also have microwaves.
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