Removal of flaking paint and rust from iron railings

[hellopaul2]

Hello,
I have some lovely 100+ year-old iron railings outside my house, on the boundary between my garden and the footpath, like this:

P7110525

• hellopaul2
• 11 Jul 2018

P7110519

• hellopaul2
• 11 Jul 2018

The paint is horribly flaking and they are fairly rusty. So the obvious thing is to get them sand/gritblasted. But, the local council, having spoken to the gritblasting company, are going off on some ridiculous tangent that has suddenly exploded from a sensible "you'll have to put up some signs asking pedestrians on the pavement to wait to be escorted around the site" to "ooh, it's near a road junction. You're gonna need traffic lights and all kinds of unbelievably ridiculous and expensive nonsense".

Various sandblasting companies I've spoken to have been keen to cut the railings out , take them away and sand/gritblast them, then weld them back into position. The idea of this horrifies me, especially as the railings are embeded into the base and a wall in THIRTY SIX places, not including the 7 or so curved support brackets.

P7110522

• hellopaul2
• 11 Jul 2018

P7110521

• hellopaul2
• 11 Jul 2018

Another option would be to find someone* willing to spend a week or so with a wire brush on a drill, working away at the rust/paint. Or is there an ultra-powerful chemical paint stripper that would be strong enough to strip this paint and rust?

*Preferably not me, but I feel this might be somehow inevitable.

So, I'm posting this for any advice on how best to progress this - has anyone experienced anything similar?

Many thanks in advance for any help!

~ Paul

 

[Nige F]

Sandblasting, drill wire brush, is over thinking the job. Hand wire brush, Aluminium Oxide paper, scraper and knife. Leave the adhering paint and cover with Rust - Oleum.

 

[blup]

As above.

Rust-oleum - hammered finish looks good, bright without being shiny, and is easy to apply to rough or even rusty surfaces.

If you have a listed building the railings may form part of the listing if they're attached to the property (or be listed in their own right) and their removal, even temporarily, could cause big problems.

Blup.

 

[nuzuki]

Look into a descaler attachment for an air compressor. Good bit of kit and cheap but the compressor noise might annoy the neighbours. Put the compressor in the house and run the hose thru the letterbox. This tool will speed up the job no end.

 

[endecotp]

Look into a descaler attachment for an air compressor. .

There is an electric version: https://www.jewson.co.uk/tool-hire/power-tools/needle-guns/products/4840/electric-needle-gun/

No idea if it’s any good, but have been considering hiring one for my railings.

 

[KenGMac]

Many years ago, an old painter I worked with used a square linked metal chain, and by wrapping the chain around the metal work he would pull the chain back and forward thus removing rust as it went, He protected his hands with taping the chain ends and wearing gloves, that removed the bulk of the old rust the rest was down to wire brush and as can be seen from above several other ideas.

Ken

 

[hellopaul2]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I will give them a try. I'd never heard of a needle gun/descaler.

 

[hellopaul2]

I hired a needle gun and a friend loaned me a Bristle Blaster. Needless to say, after a day of needle-gunning, my hands and arms feel knackered, but a LOT of the paint/rust is GONE!

Which leads me on to my next question - I have some Rustoleum zinc-rich primer, which I was planning to use on the railings. Before I go out and buy some more (I only have a little) I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions/experience on the best primer/top coats for iron railings? I'm going to keep them black. It looks like Rustoleum is what most people here like. I'm guessing that a "paint and primer in one" wouldn't give as long-lasting results as a separate primer + top coat?

 

[Nige F]

I hired a needle gun and a friend loaned me a Bristle Blaster. Needless to say, after a day of needle-gunning, my hands and arms feel knackered, but a LOT of the paint/rust is GONE!

Which leads me on to my next question - I have some Rustoleum zinc-rich primer, which I was planning to use on the railings. Before I go out and buy some more (I only have a little) I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions/experience on the best primer/top coats for iron railings? I'm going to keep them black. It looks like Rustoleum is what most people here like. I'm guessing that a "paint and primer in one" wouldn't give as long-lasting results as a separate primer + top coat?

That Bristle blaster looks excellent ! I would think primer + topcoat would be best. Have you thought about using a painting mitt to apply the topcoat ?

 

[opps]

Admittedly, I have only used it on rusty metal once, but Owatrol recommend their paint additive oil as a primer.

https://www.owatroldirect.co.uk/product/owatrol-oil/