Help on trying to paint/restore a garden firepit

[Tagged]

Hi.

Got a little project going on here. Been wanting a firepit for quite some time to add to my garden which is an ongoing project due to recommence in the summer, , my aunt moved house and I was able to snag this off her which she was leaving behind. Pretty delighted with it although it does need a little attention.

My plan was to clean it all up, sand it down and paint it with stove paint/Rustoleum?

All I have is an old drill and I got some wire brush heads for it which I thought would clean up nicely, managed to do pretty well on the lid but it took me Ages, couldn't imagine doing the rest of it like this. Surely there must be a better way of taking off the rust so I can bring it back up again with some paint.

Do I need to sand it down to bare metal before painting? I don't even have a grinder to use.

Any help/tips appreciated. Apologies the pictures aren't that good of the actual firepit it's a nightmare to move out of the garage with flakes of rust.

 

[Rocket01]

Personally I'd get it sandblasted, but you can get wire brush attachments with much heavier duty wire to take care of the more stubborn crud.

 

[SFK]

Are you going to use it as an outside fire pit.

I ask you need to balance the amount of time you put into it, with the new coating burning off and going rusty the first time you use it.

That could be a very frustrating experience.

If being used as a fire pit, I would strongly consider sanding off the worst of it with your drill, and painting it with a black heat proof BBQ/stove paint (noting that this paint will also come off where it is rusty and areas of direct heat.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=bbq+paint

Then see how it looks after a year of use in your garden.

Sfk

 

[Tagged]

Yes I was going to sand it and repaint it. Will it just flake off again? I don't want the bottom of it to bust out with rust and I'd like to get as long as possible out of it.

Nice to drink a few beers by it in summer

 

[SFK]

Will it just flake off again? I

The problem is that being outside and exposed to flames, it might, and it is likely to also be burnt off.


So I am worried you will for a perfect look spending lots of time, and be disappointed in a few months.

I feel, be careful you do not send too much time and effort as being outside and exposed to flame will reduce its effectiveness.

Sfk