I need to weigh something down, and I have a weight. It’s from a weighted window. Maybe 10-12” long, 1+1/2” diameter, very heavy. It appears to just be iron, but I can’t be sure, but it’s somewhat rusty anyway.
Can I just paint the thing? Or do I need to treat it in some way first? It’s roughly made, pitted metal, but hey, it’s just a weight, right?
Your thoughts?
How nice does it have too look? It’s cast iron, rustoleum will stick but eventually rust will bubble through. Scrape off as much loose material as you can with a wire wheel or similar. If you want to go all out you can get some rust bullet or por 15. Those are aluminized coatings that will definitely stop rust and they come in whatever color you like as long as it’s silver. You can paint over it though.
I’d sandblast it clean of rust, if you have access to anyone who has that tech.
Actual rust should be removed. Wire brush and possibly use of a rust converter would be good.
Epoxy paints such as Rustoleum Epoxy (and similar brands designed for metal) will cover well without further preparation. Other paint tends to need additional prep and primer.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
It needn’t be pretty at all, but I’d hate to get rust on something by accident. No access to sandblasting, but I can definitely wire brush the thing. I probably have some black Rustoleum kicking around too!
(I don’t quite know how to describe what it’s for exactly, it’s a movable laundry drying rack, of stainless steel. It folds up, to store easily, and extends in length to accommodate bedsheets. Picture an X on either end, if that helps. I can use it indoors or out. While it got great reviews online, the one drawback seemed that on a windy day it might blow over. Since then I’ve been contemplating what to use as a heavy weight for it, when I came upon this old window weight, from when we had them repaired after buying the house.)
It’s the nearness to laundry that makes me think I should paint it.
This is Project Farm’s round-up review of rust coverings and converters. Project Farm is a very popular YouTube channel — sort of a rural Consumer Reports marinated in espresso. Impressive detail and organization.
My memory is that the cheapest Rustoleum products beat out all but the most expensive rust converters.
Maybe consider putting the window weight in a piece of PVC pipe with a cap glued on each end. PVC pipe is available in many sizes and you should be able to find a piece that just fits.
No more rust problems.
…or wrap it in some clean material eg linoleum, cling-film/saran , sack or something.
Both excellent suggestions, neither had crossed my mind!
Thanks!
No need to over think this one. I would wire brush it & rattle can it with any color of Rustoleleum. My sister did this about 45 years ago & the weight is still rust free.
She likes purple & pink.
You could macramé or hitch over it if you wanted it to look extra fancy (and protect whatever it was touching), but even so I would brush the rust off first (and the Rustoleum/Hammerite would not hurt in that case anyway)