Rust on free weights

[Sesquipedalian Sam]

Many years ago, I bought a cheap set of dumbbells at one of those used sporting goods stores. The finish is now starting to crack and peel in some places. I'm wondering if there is some type of vinyl or similar coating I can put on them to stop the deterioration.

My set goes from 2 lbs to 80 lbs. The ones from 30 lbs on up are hex weights similar to this:

They appear to be solid metal. There is no deterioration with them.

The smaller ones are round and appear to have some sort of metallic paint over a dark brown metal (iron?). There is minor chipping and flaking in various places. One of the 15 lb weights actually has a bit of a hole in the handle. The first picture below is low res, the second is higher.

Is there anything I can get that will stick to these and stand up to some banging about?

What about Plasti-Dip, the stuff used to put a rubberized coat on tool handles?

Will I need to first remove or at least roughen up the existing paint?

Or should I just used this as an excuse to convince the boss that I need a set of those adjustable dumbbells?

[Hank]

From what I saw in your pics, nothing you do will last more than a couple years, if that.

Go buy new ones. Sell or give away your old ones. There are many kids out there that would love to have your old ones. Or, sell them on craigslist or at the scrap yard for recycling.

Hank

[Sonny]

As an incentive for someone to buy them, maybe add some bondo (for filling the holes) to the offer.

Option 2 (expensive?): Have them sand blasted, bondo the holes, prime (with metal primer) and repaint. Spray primer and spray paint in aerosol cans. If funds are limited, do just a few at a time. Start with the ones that are damaged the most, if you screw up with the damaged ones, pfftt, they were in bad shape anyway.

Option 3 (more expensive): Have them sand blasted, bondo the holes, have them powder coated.

Compare those options vs selling and buying new.

If you're thinking spot repairs, maybe invest in a grinding wheel, with a wire brush wheel, to buff (rather than sand) the rust spots.

Sonny

[Thomas]

I didn't(can't) look at the photo but they are wieghts. If they still have some weight to them they probably do the same job as new ones.

[Reno]

A lot of metal coatings will work fine but you have to remove all of the old rust and paint first. Sand blasting is best but any of the rust removers will also work. Make sure you clean the remover all off. If surface prep is good then paint will be good and vice-versa.

The Plasti-Dip is good or even any metal paint.

[mm]

I've found a wire wheel on a bench grinder does a great job of removing rust. If the item is not painted, it comes out looking brand new.

You can remove the encasement around the wheel if there is one and use a bigger wire wheel and that's good too.

BUT BE SURE TO WEAR GLASSES, PROBABLY SAFETY GLASSES. The wires from the wheel come out once in a while and I have found them stabbing into my clothes. One or two have hit my face, but the glasses keep them from hitting my eyes.

But as I see it, barbells are all steel and sometimes rusted. If I were a "real man", that's the kind I would want.

[aemeijers]

Price new or used weights first, at local sporting goods shops, freecycle, thrift stores, garage sales, and apartment dumpsters on the weekend closest to end of month. Like any exercise equipment, there is a ton of it out there barely used, at close to scrap metal prices.

Now if your heart is set on rehabbing theses- peel off any plastic covers, and haul them to local metal finishing job shop. They can bead-blast them and apply a clearcoat cheaper and better than you can, and they will look stunning. But expect to pay close to what new weights would cost. Local marine supply can re-plastic them with the same stuff they use to coat dock parts and trailer frames with- sort of a plasticized baked-on powder coat system. But again, it ain't cheap.

[Sesquipedalian Sam]

Are you sure? I've never used that Plasti-Dip, but it seems like if it can coat tool handles and then stand up to being tossed around in a toolbox, I would think that it could do this job. The weights don't bang into each other or anything else. If it seals the surface, it should stop the deterioration, no?

[Sesquipedalian Sam]

I'm not going to do a lot of work (or spend a lot of $$$) to rehabilitate them. If just a little cleanup and then a coating won't do it, I'll use them as is until I can get new ones.

[Sesquipedalian Sam]

Depends on what you mean by "do the job". I'm pretty sure my 15 lb weights weigh about the same as brand new 15 lb weights, but the adjustable sets look to be a lot easier to use.

[Sesquipedalian Sam]

So if I clean them up a little with a wire brush, I should be able to paint them with Plasti-Dip and have it stick?

Since it completely covers the weights, if it can stick to itself, it should work, no?

[Sesquipedalian Sam]

;-)

[Sesquipedalian Sam]

Goodness, I never realized that.

How about a pet rock?

Goodness, no.

But would I need to buy all new pants?

How can they get away with making those claims?

You don't want to do it yourself? I think she'd like you. ;-)

[mm]

I looked into getting a stove and having it painted harvest gold at an auto body shop. He gave me a price quickly, but my memory is vague now. It was going to be 300 or 400 dollars.

When I stripped the 32-year-old stove, I saw that both sides and the back came from one piece of metal. I figured the sides were screwed on, but I would have had to take the whole stove there to be painted.

Instead paid 100 for a beautiful 20 y.o. one. The day I took the old stove to the dump**, aAfter I dropped my friend off, two blocks away on the grass near the curb was another beautiful harvest gold stove. They weren't throwing it away or selling it, but still quite a coincidence. It was exactly like my "new" stove.

**where a guy intercepted me and asked for it, so he and I put it in his truck so he could sell it for scrap.

[mm]

Probably not. The new ones use metric pounds and yours are probably poundal pounds.