Yes, I did mine in place. Cleaning was a nightmare, even toothbrushes were too big for some spots.

I used a shower curtain pulled under the feet and taped to the wall to keep the spray paint off everything.

Do lots of very thin coats, you don't need to cover every spot every coat. Many super thin coats are best.

You can find all sorts of colors in heat proof paint now so you'll have lots of cool choices.

I refinished at least 5 radiators in place in this old house. Each was a terrible, long job, but it can be done and the results are well worth it. I used a strong stripper, BIX (I worked in summer, so the radiators were not on), then painted on a metal primer, then a coat of metal paint. I didn't spray paint. Go for it!

When the boiler is drained it is easy to remove a radiator if you have a large enough pipe wrench. Removal is no harder than trying to clean the radiator in place.

Don't paint it with aluminum paint or the radiant (infra red) heat energy of the radiator will be almost entirely blocked.

Thanks all.

Mightyanvil - you are a better man than I am. I moved one radiator once and vowed never to do it again. It was one of the SMALL ones and it must have weighed 300 pounds. I can only guess what the big ones weigh.

I'm into the same thing. Old house with a dozen old filty radiators in need of painting. I'm also drywalling behind them. Removing the rads would make the rennovation ALOT easier. I am not so worried about how heavy these things are. But I am afraid to unscrew the pipes for fear of them breaking off. Also I am scared to death of creating leaks when I try to reattach them. I capable handyman on most jobs, but I don't want to create a bunch of new problems.

Am I being too cautious on this?

Thanks
nack

I too was more afraid of creating a problem where none existed before and stripped and painted mine in place. They weren't leaking or making noise or anything and some of them are very big. I figure even if they aren't perfectly done now they are a vast improvement over the way they looked and they still function fine.

I'm with you nack.

No joke - some of these radiators must be 500 pounds. Moving them without messing up the hardwood floor would be a challenge.

The only things that would cause me to move them would be a need to do work on the wall behind them or to refinish the floor under them.

Dunno. My floor guy went under them. I didn't want to contaminate the water with air. Every time you open up the radiator, it adds air, (read rust.) I have a 1950 boiler functioning perfectly since it has never been opened. Worth considering doing in place. I'd recommend it.
Len