Author Scores Groovy Patio Chairs; Seeks Advice to Remove Unseemly Rust
I picked up some free patio chairs tonight--saw them on Craigs list. They're black wrought iron and kind of rusty. Maybe they're not wrought iron. Maybe they're just a rusty regular iron. I don't know the difference. Anyway, I'm going to make some new cushions (on the "to do" list when school lets out) for our new garden (also on the "to do" list) in our newly-landscaped backyard (also on the "to do" list). Does anyone know if I can just paint over the rust? Is there some product I can use to bring them to their original, pre-rusty splendor? If you have any tips, please advise.
Also, if anyone needs a new armchair and wants to do an alley run, I saw one in the alley behind 37th Ave & Majors in Robbinsdale. It's little, cute, and good condition. The fabric looked good, but might be a fun reupholstering project. There was also a kitchen chair that would need to be reupholstered, w/rusty steel legs, a piece of crap bookshelf that was falling apart, and some cans of paint.
posted by Ugly Juice @ 7:45 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
If they are wrought iron, then the rust is a good a finish as you can get... with wrought iron and wrought iron only the rust makes a protective shell that stops any further rust (which is why we have wrougth iron fixtures from the renaissance) The way to tell the difference is too look closely at the rust, wrought iron tends to be strandish vs just clumpy.
As far as solving the rust problem (per your request): I recommend against painting over the rust, think about rust blooms under the paint of old cars.
Your best bet is to take off as much of the new rust as possible before you paint. Depending on how bad the chairs are rusted it could be a wire brush or as much work as varying grades of sandpaper and steel wool.
Ok, wow, that's way too much. Drop me a line if you want more blacksmith talk.
-j
Oh, goodie. I was thinking of you when I posted that and was hoping you were checking in every now and then. Thank you for the advice! I'll let you know how it goes when I start working on it this summer.
-j, our blacksmith friend, can you add huge blades and some armor to the chairs for Mad Max bbqs?
Anna is probably going for something quaint and charming but she doesn't realize how dangerous our backyard will be after the apocalypse. I'm much more pragmatic about this sort of thing and would like to gear up.
Can you make a 6-sided death mace that also opens beer bottles?
You don't even like beer.
Shad- YES!
I think I hear the core of a song... backyard apocalypse! Mad Max BBQ! Gold baby. A mace/bottle opener? Sheer genius! With a jimmy buffet/margaritaville feel maybe?
Anna- if they are actual wrought iron they are worth their weight in gold (and will last about as long). Look for weld spots. Historically wrought iron was banded or forge (invisible) welded, not the modern filler rod weld that you find with steel (think metal glue). Finding a strong desire to explain the differences between cast iron, wrought iron, and steel. Argh!
-j
My mom repainted her patio chairs a couple years ago. First she used steel wool to get most of the rust off and smooth the metal, then she used a LOT of naval jelly on all the metal surfaces, and then she used a couple coats of rustoleum spray paint (whatever color you wish) and they have held up well. You will always have to repaint them every couple years if you let them sit outside, but still, a couple years isn't bad.
...your Mom used a LOT of naval jelly...
Post a Comment
<< Home