Painting a scarred metall railing
by
Iris
+4
I am going to paint a metal step railing, which is by the front door. It is about 50 yrs old, and has the scars of age scraped into the surface. There is some rust, and areas where the rust bubbled under the paint. It is not smooth. Is there something I can do to smooth out the metal? is there something like leveling paint for exterior metal surfaces? I would welcome suggestions, thanks.
Related Discussions
Suggested Project Book
I would use a wire brush to scrub and scrape off all of the loose rust and help smooth the surface. Be sure to use a paint that is recommended for covering rust.
I agree with Michele, but first clean the rust with Coca Cola (the only good use for Coca Cola) with the same wire brush. Get some Bondo from Home Depot and fill in areas that need smoothing.
Use rust converter. It turns the rust black and hard again. Then sand it, primer it and use an appropriate paint,
https://www.todayshomeowner.com/video/how-to-stop-rust-when-painting-wrought-iron-railings/
Spray with rustoleum...there are lots of colors avaliable. You must get every single bit of rust off or it will flake off...use a vacuum to clean it off. You can use one of the rotary wheels wire brushes for ease..rent it if you must. Or put one in our drill. Get a plastic dropcloth and cover everything. The spray works best. Good luck!
Hi Iris, Painting the metal railing is a great idea to brighten up the place but first you have to put in some elbow grease. You need to sand any flaking paint or rough edges since it will show thru the new paint. Ideally, all of it needs to be sanded since there is rust too. I then I would use spray paint to paint it. Just do not get too close since spray paint tends to run.
Good luck!
Yup, got it nicely sanded, then cleaned, no problem. The real issue is 50 yrs of scarring. The top flat surface is marred. I am going to try the Bondo. thanks everyone.