Because it is metal, I would use old automobile body work techniques to get
a good surface.
-First, hand wet sandpaper (using wet/dry sandpaper and water) using a
rubber sanding block to feather out the chips and clean up bare or rusted
surfaces.
-Second, prime with a good metal primer, one designed to be sanded without
gumming up sandpaper.
-Third, sand the primer, any low spots that show up use body putty, a
lacquer based putty that can be spread over low spots to build them up
level. Sand the putty level, add more and sand again if needed to get
smooth.
-Fourth, prime and gently sand again to smooth surface.
-Fifth, apply two coats of semi-gloss or gloss enamel to get a good hard
smooth surface.

They will look great.

"Charlie S." wrote in message
news:PMaej.2224$sE5.1927@trndny05...
We have an old convection baseboard radiator with paint chips peeling away
in certain sections. Some sections the paint is securely fastened to the
surface. Would like to strip all the sections down so as to make a smooth
surface.

This is an image of what the this radiator looks like.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...icrosoft:en-US

I was thinking of scrapping the peeling part and using some sort of
stripper to remove the rest. This is also some minimal rusting and old
paint beneath.. Might need to do some sanding to make it smooth after
I'm finished. (I don't have a sander, but been wanting to buy one for
some time. So, that isn't a big issue. Any type of sander recommendation
would be appreciated.)

Any idea on how I might tackle this job. Not sure on what type of
chemical stripper to use or whether using some sort of heat gun might be a
better idea? (Amazon has one on sale)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...A9859091M5468Z

I don't have one of these either, but in the spring I could use it to
remove old paint around the windows.