What happens if my iron gate starts to rust?
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Thursday, January 22, 2015
What happens if my iron gate starts to rust?
When your wrought iron gate is first installed, it will be beautiful and shiny black with a rust-prevention treatment coat protecting it from the elements.
The ideal is to keep your iron gate looking that way for as long as possible, but just like any paint, the protective coat on your wrought iron gate will eventually wear off. You can prevent rust by adding a new protective coat, but what happens if you forget to do this in time and your iron gate starts to rust? Do not worry: all is not lost. There are things you can do to restore the beauty of your wrought iron gate and prevent it from rusting again.
First, you will need to sand off the rust, or use a commercial rust-removing chemical to remove the rust from your iron gate. This is an extremely important step: if there is any rust left on the iron when you apply a protective coating, the damage will continue underneath the coating, compromising the strength of your wrought iron. Once the rust is completely removed, it is time to protect your gate from the damaging effects of water again.
You can paint it with a rust protectant product, or you can simply use linseed oil to keep it from being exposed to the air and getting rusty again. If you use linseed oil the protection will last for a long time, but you will have to re-apply it regularly before you start to see signs of damage, as it will not be visibly obvious when the oil wears off and your wrought iron is in danger again. On the other hand, if you use a rust protectant paint, you will be able to tell by looking if the paint is beginning to crack or flake, so that you can sand it and reapply a new coat before your wrought iron begins to rust.
All in all, wrought iron requires relatively little maintenance and will look beautiful for years, even decades. If it is properly maintained, it will last a lifetime. As with anything worth keeping, though, it does have to be taken care of, and our experts at Linmoore Fencing are more than happy to help you keep your iron gate maintained so that you do not have to worry about it.