Refinishing wrought iron patio furniture

A. Hi Pallav. 3 years should be no challenge for a proper finish. My steel patio set has been on our deck on a salt water lagoon 365 days a year, for 13 years. You just need proper phosphatization, e-coating, and powder coating. Good luck.

Regards,

Ospho Rust Converter

on eBay or

Amazon

(affil links)

A. The rust existing has to be treated with a green rust remover - the treated rust turns black - brush this powder away. Follow the directions on the bottle from the paint store. Then you need to undercoat with a primer for wrought iron. Then comes the final exterior coat of paint. If you have your item powder coated without removing the rust - the rust will return. This is tricky with powder coaters because you have no real clue how long they will wait until your item is really coated and their tiny pellets will not remove the rust in the cracks. So to send item to powder coaters, just treat for the rust only and send item. Once you have a powder coated item, you can no longer paint it! Some research is needed for you to determine which process is best for your needs.

Thanks Sandra. Yes, a rust converter ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] is an alternate to sand blasting, and probably easier for the average homeowner. But it's not correct that a powder coated item can't later be painted. Powder coating is a method of applying paint rather than a type of paint.

Regards,

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Ed. note: please see letters 7543, 26857, 32772, and 33964 for additional discussions on this topic.

A. Hi, Amey. Sending them out for sandblasting is the easy way, but you can hand sand instead, then treat rusty areas with rust converter ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , then prime. Powder coating tends to be thicker than most other paint, but the prep for the coating is much more important than whether the final coat is paint or powder.

Regards,

A. I would ship it to an expert in iron, metals, galvanizing, powder coating, and restoring antique iron furnisher. Good luck with your restoration.

A. Hi, Andrea. Sandblasting will not damage the metal. If there are fancy glass inserts or something, those could certainly be badly scored if they weren't masked. It is not an expensive proposition if you can locate someone who does it regularly.

To refinish it yourself without sandblasting you would sand away any rust spots, then treat them with rust converter ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , then prime and then paint. Good luck.

Regards,

A. Hi, Dino. Once the furniture has been prepared as described, any paint made for the purpose will do fine. For example, you'll see both spray paints and brush-on paints by Rustoleum for use on metal outdoors. You'll usually see snapshots of outdoor metal items on the label. Good luck.

Regards,

A. Hi Elizabeth.

You can paint over powder coating. Powder coating is a method of coating, not a type of coating. Latex would most likely be compatible with the powder coating you have. Try on the bottom or inconspicuous place, but I'd expect it to be okay.

Regards,

A. You definitely have to remove rust from anything you paint. Rust has a tendency to continue growing even under paint. If your furniture has a lot of rust, you may want to have it sandblasted. Otherwise, you can hand sand or use a drill and attach a rust removal wheel, You can find the wheels in the paint section of hardware stores. Use the wheels that are 1 whole piece and do not need to be screwed into a drill bit. Afterwards, when you are done sanding, wipe down the item with paint thinner or mineral spirits ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , to remove any small debris. Let dry. Now prime the piece of furniture. I would prime the whole thing not just the cleaned rust spots. This insures that your final coat of paint will look evenly distributed. If you are not taking your item somewhere to be powder coated, I highly recommend Rust-Oleum outdoor spray paint products. They make a primer that is actually copper colored that inhibits continued rust growth. I used it recently on rot iron furniture. Let the furniture dry (48 Hours), then paint with your favorite Rust-Oleum paint color. I used the hammered black. The furniture looks great. Time will tell how it holds up in the 4 seasons of Ohio weather. I have had good experiences with Rust-Oleum paint. I painted a chair for my parents and it was left outside for at least 10 years and, even though the paint has faded a little, it still looks pretty good and not very rusted. Also, if you can, replace old rusted nuts and bolts with stainless steel ones. You should get many years out of your furniture. Also, wear a paint face mask when spray painting - just because you don't want to breathe in the overspray.

A. Hi Susan. When you spray paint something, the paint pigment & binders are dissolved in a solvent; the solvent evaporates, leaving the dry pigment and binders on your furniture. In powder coating, a dry powder is sprayed onto the furniture, then baked in an oven until the powder melts into plastic and fuses together as a coating. It's not impossible to powder coat stuff yourself, but typically this is a factory operation; so I'll assume there is a typo in your inquiry and you are asking if you can spray paint the powder coated furniture.

Just as some paints are compatible with each other and some are not, it's possible that the powder coating will be incompatible with your spray paint...but I doubt it. Often powder coated patio furniture will come with a small container of touch-up paint, and this may give you a clue as to what is compatible.

Regards,

A. Hi Dennis. I know that the last thing you want is more complication, but when we don't know what kind of metal it is, or what kind of paint it is, or why and how badly the paint is chipping, it's difficult to offer anything beyond generalities.

If it's iron or steel (that is, if it's magnetic), sandblasting is one way to remove the paint. But if it's not magnetic, it may not be a good idea to attempt sandblasting. A very strong solvent that will remove almost any paint, but will not hurt metal, is Aircraft Stripper. This contains methylene chloride, though, which is very toxic and must be used only outdoors, while wearing rubber gloves ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and goggles ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] as a minimum, and working up-wind.

What you should paint it with depends on the type of metal and why the paint chipped, but a safe and universal approach is probably to prime it with a Self-etching primer ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] (which will be helpful on any metal), and then paint it with some kind of outdoor paint for metal (such as a Krylon product or Rustoleum Hammered Metal [affil links]).

Sometimes you'll see a picture of a wheelbarrow or patio furniture or a similar item on the paint can when the paint is intended for outdoor use on metal. Good luck.

Regards,

A. Hi. I think you need to have the flaking, chalking paint sandblasted off before rust conversion primer. You say it's vintage, and I don't know how old that means. If 1970s It's probably lead-free. If before then, lead is a possibility. But the sandblaster will have to deal with it.

Regards,

A. Hi Darcy. Sorry, but your paint lacks adhesion to the previous paint, and adding another layer won't help. Paint is not shrinkwrap; each layer must adhere. The original paint may have been chalking, it may have been waxed at some point, or just not thoroughly clean. I think you'll have to live with the touchups or send it out for sandblasting. Sorry.

Regards,

A. Hi Melanie. I think you'll find that it gets you and your guests too rusty. We appended your inquiry to a thread with good information about prepping and clearcoating. Good luck.

Regards,

Thanks, but that didn't answer the question.
Will it hold up if I leave it rusty?

Hi again. It depends on exactly what you mean by hold up: iron will neither last forever, nor will it rust away to nothing in a week. It also depends on the environment -- is it staying outside in the sun and rain, or on a covered porch, or indoors? It will certainly continue to rust and the rust will flake off and powder off. If you want a one-word answer:
- yes, it will hold up for many years inside, if "hold up" means not fall apart and collapse;
- no, it will not hold up outside for many years, unless you consider a rusted, pitted, mess "holding up" as long as it doesn't collapse.

Regards,

A. Hi Louise. If these chairs were sold for inside use, they probably won't last long outdoors, although a clearcoat like Protectaclear from Everbrite [a finishing.com supporting advertiser] will help somewhat. If they were sold as patio furniture, they shouldn't need further protection -- although periodic waxing with car wax ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] won't hurt and will help their longevity somewhat.

Regards,

A. Hi Amber. If you want any longevity, you have to deal with the rust, not try to camouflage it. If you are not having it sandblasted, you should sandpaper it as well as practical, then apply a rust converter ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] as discussed above. Then a prime coat and a finish coat. Good luck.

Regards,

Q. Thanks so much for your reply, Ted, I really appreciate it. I do plan to do my best to deal with the rust (which will have to be brushing & sandpapering) prior to painting it, but still the rust will eventually come through, will it not? My question is, do you think going with a darker color will give me more time before it noticeably comes through vs. using a white color? Thanks a bunch!

A. Hi again. The rust converter ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] is supposed to deal with the remaining existing rust, changing it to a stable form.

But I can't really answer your question; I've never heard of trying to camouflage rust by painting in a color close to rust color rather than white. But millions of people consciously pick a car color that "doesn't show dirt", so maybe you're on to something :-)

Regards,

A. Hi K. How sure are you that it's powder coating? It sounds to me more like a two-component coating which was a little low on the hardener component.

Regards,