I've done chemstrip many years ago and it was great. Prices went up and for my most recent one we found a sandblast/powdercoat that was more reasonable.

You really don't need a plumber to disconnect. A semi-competent handyman with a wrench should suffice unless you have some really strange setup. Also not hard to DIY if you buy a big wrench and spend some time to understand the system.

Moving them (especially back up stairs) can be difficult - find some seriously strong people to lift them and pay them well.

Do be careful to note which radiators come from which spot so you can get them back exactly where they came from.

It's a tough project but so worth it.

PP here - I recall it cost about $3000 total for three large radiators - transport, stripping, and plumber to reconnect. We got the name for the people for the transport from Chemstrip.

Anonymous wrote:Chemstrip gave us the name of a company that would move/transport the radiators.

How much did this cost?

Chemstrip gave us the name of a company that would move/transport the radiators. We drained the system and disconnected them and the they were picked up. When they were done and returned we had a plumber come to replace the valves and reconnect them and refill the system. We did this for 3 large radiators - stripped, primed and painted - and we’re happy with the result. It’s not cheap and Chemstrip is the only place I found to do this. As part of a renovation we had previously replaced others with hot water cast iron baseboard radiators (look up Baseray). We have been happy with these as well but that only works if you have access to redo the piping from below or if you are removing the floor (as we did for a bathroom) so that you can re-route the pipes.

Anonymous wrote:Don't do that to the radiators. You are into some toxic stuff with that project. Then it will continue to 'burn off' into the air when winter comes and your windows are closed. It will be an in-house burn pit.

If they are ugly, cover them.

What has a vapor point of 140-180 degrees? Lead is like 752 degrees.

I had it done with the one that had high lead levels. They wrapped it up, removed for sandblasting and then reinstalled. It was part of a $40K project but not a super expensive part. Then again, maybe I got a deal because I was doing the whole room with the company.