wrought iron railing

[fish]

i have a home that was built in 1951. the railings are wrought iron, and have some rust and chipping. i understand that this might have leaded paint on it.

what are my options? can i put a heavy coat of rustoleum on it and be done with it? i was going to brush it but now i am having second thoughts since there may be lead paint involved.

Thanks, Fish.

[Corinne]

I had this type of railing, and sanded it real well. Then I purchased Hammerite (a type of paint) for a quality paint store.

I never had any rust show through after that, and I sold the house four years later, and it still looked great.

Corinne

[Tim S]

I agree - Hammerite is *very* good for this sort of job. Good range of colours too.

My advice having used gallons of the stuff:

a) Although it sticks OK to bare metal (slight rust included), it's better IMHO if you use a coat of Hammerite primer first - less chance of it cracking off, though this is more of a problem on thin metal like chassis.

b) Put it on thin and recoat at least once (watch the re-coating time, too long and the second coat won't stick well - instructions on the tin). If you glob it on, it takes *forever* to harden.

Cheers

Tim (in the UK)