How to DIY Refurbish and Paint Chimney Cap

The metal chimney cap for the wood stove was covered in rust. But it had a few things going for it in that the rust was only topical. The cap was still solid and had not rusted through. Also, the cap is really cute. I like the style and could not find a similar replacement anywhere….So, let’s see if we can refurbish, and paint the chimney cap to get this rusted chimney cap looking good a new.

Here is the rusted chimney cap. If you look past the rust, isn’t the style kind of cute?

Remove Rust:

If you’re going to do this, get your chimney cap and cover off the roof so you can really work on it. Removing rust is fairly simple, but does take some elbow grease. I simply poured distilled white vinegar on the rusted areas and started scrubbing with a wire brush. Hindsight being 20/20, I wish I would have purchased some wire brushes with a drill attachment to ease the work, but you live and learn!

Here is the chimney chase cover after a few rounds of vinegar and scrubbing. I kept at it after this until it was mostly free of any red color. Do the same for the chimney cap.

Wire Brush Set for Drill

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• The wire wheel brush set removes rust, paint, dust and burrs from surfaces such as metals and wood, and can also be used to level weld spatter.

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Stainless Steel Wire Scratch Brush for Cleaning Rust

Wire brushes are ideal for removing paint stains, rust, welding slag, solder, scale, Great for remove corrosion and more from parts, equipment, machinery and other surfaces. Also great for cleaning threads, grills or tile.

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Refurbish the Galvanized Chimney Cap & Cover:

Galvanization is a zinc-based coating over typically steel metal. The galvanization is what keeps the steel from rusting, but over time, the galvanization wears away and the metal underneath rusts. In order to keep the newly cleaned up chimney cap and cover from rusting again, I need to re-galvanize the sheet metal.

Typically, galvanization is done with a hot-dipping process, hence the term hot-dipped galvanized that you may see on various exterior grade hardware. I won’t’ be able to do that here, so I found the next best thing – cold spray galvanization.

This is basically a spray paint can of spray galvanization. It’s a bit pricey for a small can and the spray is toxic. So be forewarned! Use this stuff outside or in a well-ventilated area. I would also recommend a good respiratory mask for this stuff. I bought three cans and used almost all of it, but I think it’s worth it to keep the rust from coming back.

Here is the spray galvanized chimney cap and cover, already looking much better. Make sure you allow this stuff to dry fully before moving on to the next step. The spray can did not specify drying time, so I let this sit for at least 48 hours per standard spray paint instructions.

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Paint Chimney Cap & Cover:

With the galvanization fully dry, it’s time to spray paint chimney cap and cover. The chimney cap can be exposed to pretty high temperatures, so I used a special high heat spray paint here. The Main House fixer upper design is farmhouse-modern with the use of black and white colors. So, you guessed it, let’s paint the chimney cap and cover black. I think it will look cute.

Here is the spray paint chimney cap and cover after one coat. It is a bit splotchy, but don’t worry, I’ll just add more coats.

After a few coats, the painted chimney cap was looking really cute! Do you agree? Way better yeah?

Rust-Oleum High Heat Spray Paint

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Spark Guard:

The local building code here requires that a chimney have a proper ember guard or spark guard mesh to stop large embers from escaping and causing a wildfire. I could have argued that this older chimney cap was “grandfathered in” but wildfires are a big risk here. I want to be able to start a fire in the wood stove on a chilly October day even if the rainy season hasn’t fully started without worry. So I want to upgrade this chimney cap to include a code compliant spark guard.

To do this, I ordered a 5/8 inch mesh roll of stainless steel and installed a tube of mesh in the interior of the chimney cap. I made sure the height of the roll would cover the open sections of the chimney cap. The length of the roll needed to be at least the circumference of the inside of the cap plus a little extra for overlap. Then I used stainless steel screws to hold the mesh in place.

Here is the installed spark guard mesh on the chimney cap. This stuff is sharp! Wear some protective gloves if you’ll be doing this. I cut the mesh to size with bolt cutters.

Reinstall Refurbished and Painted Chimney Cap and Cover:

Let’s get this good-as-new chimney cap and cover back on! Here it is looking cute and fresh. Do you think it was worth saving? *Spoilers* You can see the replaced siding on the house and chimney in that modern farmhouse style I mentioned. Let me know if this post was helpful in the comment below.