Recently, we rebuilt a machine at our facility. We painted the machine and the techs painted over the grease zerks. Do I need to replace all the zerks?

Unless you want to run the risk of paint flakes being forced into the bearings you should replace the zerks

slightly unrelated, but does anyone have ideas of a grease fitting (tiny zerk, or the flush mounted press in ball type) very small.

I have an application requiring maybe 1/8 or 1/16 drilled hole, minimal space, yet I want to regrease. I could have a special tip or needle on the grease gun to mate to this proprietory fitting if necessary.
Very dirty, gritty environment, but I can cover with residual grease and spray soem cleaner on it before each greasing.
Or possibly a screw in plug or screw?

k

There are some drive in type grease zerks that have a standard head but fit a very small hole like down to 1/8". You can use a needle greaser on your grease gun in an open hole if you leave some extra to keep the dirt out and clean the area before regreasing. I would avoid using solvents (which may change the properties of the grease) to clean and just wipe the excess off with a rag.

"Recently, we rebuilt a machine at our facility. We painted the machine and the techs painted over the grease zerks. Do I need to replace all the zerks?"

Hagerty,

The best solution is to eliminate the potential for this to occur. Of course most reputable painting contractors know better, but it still happens. To be pro-active, the option I would propose is to implement the use of dust caps on all zerks. The only issue will run into is the high temperature areas. Most dust caps are plastic and do not withstand high temperatures.
Hope this helps. In addition to dust caps, I have implemented a color coded system. All zerks have a designated dust cap color which is symbolic of the application.

Hope this helps,

Yenool