It Must be Summer Because....

Not worth spending a lot of time, money and effort on, just wire brush it off and hit it with some rustoleum...

..If it's really bad, I might hit it with a pressure sprayer first....

Yeah, I just did mine, light pressure washing to remove the pollen, sanding the rusty spots, and spraying with Rustoleum. It gets in all the crevices, and if you spray it at a low angle, you can avoid wasting too much going through the holes.

Worked great for me!

A couple years ago, my wife requested a hand rail for our condo front steps. I found one in a storage shed on the property that fit our steps, but it was badly rusted and pitted. I spent a day with an angle grinder, a wire cup wheel, and a flapper wheel. I was able to remove most of the heavy rust and smooth the pitted areas down to bare metal. A coat of metal primer and a coat of exterior black paint had the railing looking as good as new. After two New England winters with snow, ice, and salt, It still looks like new.

Ah, yes. Like my dad was always fond of saying, "Any good paint job is 95% prep, 5% paint.

Your dad was wrong; it's more like 98%

I just finished putting on the second coat of asphalt sealer on my driveway at my place by the lake this morning... For that, its like 85% prep, 15% applying sealer.

point is correct,... my dad always said, if you saw how a mechanic works On equipment at the implement dealer, you’ll know if he’s good. And that’s if he cleans the part as well as the area he’s working on. And keeps it clean as he puts it back together. You know he’s good enough to care about his work.

<...how to strip...>

Sand- or grit-blasting must be in the range of options, as must be a chemical paint stripper:

.

(not endorsements - other paint strippers are available).

Dilute phosphoric acid or phosphoric acid based products like naval jelly tend to work well. You can generally rinse it off if you are going to make another application. The final application I just wipe off and follow with an etching primer, then a nonetching primer then paint.

About 5 years ago, I was traveling for work quite a bit, and one of the times, where I could drive to the other facility, I brought my wife along... As I worked, she visited the thrift shops, and she bought a set of lawn furniture,... that needed paint...

she bought it, and I took our truck the next trip to bring it all home.

basically I picked up some wire brushes that I put on the 4-1/2 angle grinder, and she went to town on the furniture with it.

it bred out pretty good. She did spend a lot of time wire brushing,... but it kept her occupied.

Perhaps the quality of the outdoor furniture you have is of a higher grade than the Asian sweat shop produced metal outdoor furniture we have available which extols powder coated but neglects to add the powder came from the sweat shops madam who sneezed and spread her talc over the furniture.

The expanded steel lawn furniture has no preparation before painting and often is rusty under the paint, well what better way to get the paint to key to the surface and no undercoat required. If on finding no undercoat has been used then a full strip down would be best done by a wire cup brush and flap disk to take them back to bare metal. A small sand blasting gun is used for intricate work but that is a messy task.

One friend used to use molasses in a drum to remove the paint and in my early days of motorcycle restoration we used to place the pieces in a large copper boiler with a fire under it and add a tin of caustic soda. Boil away for a while and when the part is devoid of all paint remove from the witches cauldron, dancing around singing, hubble bubble boil my trouble is an optional past time while waiting, but beware the neighbours!

Upon removal the surface will have a dark coating which needs to be washed and sometimes scrubbed off if you are tardy in washing for it sets and then air dried before applying an etch primer straight away else a coating of rust will soon appear on the bare steel.

If the setting is too bad then I have used an International dozer to compact it down for recycling but She Who Must Be Obeyed is less friendly afterwards.

I wonder if I could get my missus to let me have a dozer?

I could do some serious damage with that.

A compact Kubota with a bucket and other fun attachments for Father's Day would be nice.

Everybody needs a backhoe now and then....just remember to locate and mark all those underground utilities, because that can surely ruin your day....

The only underground utility I have is the waterline from the lane.

That and my drain field in the back yard.

Just for gardening and light landscaping work. Maybe a box grader to groom the gravel on the lane too.

Party on then...

https://www.tractor.com/news/5-of-the-best-sub-compact-tractors/

Is a sub compact tractor one you have rolled down a hill into a dam?

How about one of these? I bought this when I was in the construction business. served Me well.

Maybe you could hob nob a set together out of stainless steel, then before and after every season you just spray a little cleaner and be done with it rather than painting it and all that goes with that and be done with it,,,just a thought

Eastwood Auto Supply has rust remover/primer.
Another Option find a metal/auto body shop that has one of those laser rust removers and pay them to do it and while there have them paint it too. Then you won't have to paint again in a long time.

In my world, its rusty lawn furniture. spending hours trying to prep it would be a waste of my time. A quick coat of rustoleum and it looks great from the street and its good for another year.

If you really want it to last, but don't want to spend forever on it...

Send it out.

1. Sandblast to remove old paint and rust
2. phosphate dip, both to etch and to add a bit more protection
3. e-coat. This is important, as powder coating tends to be a bit porous and standing water will wick through to the base metal.
4. powder top coat. This protects the thin base e-coat and gives everything a bit more durability.

My brother sells outdoor things that have to have a 5 year warranty. The e-coat powder coat combo is the only way they can make a finish last that long reliably (outdoor benches, thrash receptacles, tree grates etc.).

I was having our swimming pool sand blasted and when the crew was finished, I asked if they would be interested in blasting our wrought iron table & chairs. I think I gave them a lawnmower or something like that for doing it. They had it done in less than an hour.

I primed it with Dupont S-100 and sprayed it with Dupont Imron. These paints are no longer available, but the furniture still looks good after about 25 years. In fact, my wife was asking me the other day what it would take to strip it and paint it another color to match our recently refurbished pool.

Sandblasting is slow if you've got a small blaster, but if you can take it to a commercial blasting place, they can get it done quickly. Now I would treat it with phosphoric acid before priming, but I'd still use a polyurethane paint. I don't like powder coating because a chip will spread and large pieces will come off. Paint can be repaired.

I like your response.

It mimics my thoughts right down to the old primer not being available.

I have have a glut of head scratchers in the last few weeks from the above set.

to an old glider.

And a thickly painted vintage cast iron set.

All the great answers above have served testament to the skinned cat. thank you very much.

I will have my guns loaded when the conversation arises again.

I won't poke the sleeping cat.

..what's with all the cats?

The deciding factor for all projects will be investment of resources based upon existing issues and desired results.

I'm good saying sandpaper, wire brush, wash, dry and rattle can if your budget will allow for that. plus budget in a beer or two.

I've seen to many powder coats on poorly prepped surfaces or tight corners go bad to suggest it for a one off from a shop I don't know.

Fish oil primer was specified for all new metal work in a factory I used to work in.

Bare metal had to be heated to remove surface moisture,then fish oil primer applied.

Nothing else.

Fabricated parts lasted many years in plant exposed to acidic,alkaline,high moisture,heat,constant temperature/moisture cycling.

Rarely had any rust issues,even when not top coated with another paint,such as instrument stands,mounting brackets,etc.

Failure was usually because of not removing surface moisture before priming.

A piece of metal left in the sun all day can look perfectly dry,but apply a torch to it,and you can literally see the moisture evaporating.

Most rust is cause by invisible moisture under the primer.

Hard to find fish oil primer anymore.

People are are eating the fish oil I guess.

(Obviously more lucrative as a food supplement than as a primer.)

Rustoleum 769 Damp Proof Rust Primer is still available,and it uses fish oil as a main ingredient.

GLYPTAL enamel is good also,but is used mainly in electrical applications,because it is an excellent insulator.

Rustolem Universal has fish a fish oil alkyd,so it is probably a good choice.

I sand blasted a set of tractor wheels,and primed them with an epoxy primer about 30 years ago.

I then filled the wheels with an antifreeze/water solution.

NO inner tube.

I got a large 1"diameter puncture in one of the tires that required removing it from the rim about 20 years later.

I was totally surprised to find ZERO Rust on the inside of the rim.

Perhaps the anti-corrosion additive in the anti freeze had some effect.

I don't know,but i went back with the same dilute solution of anti-freeze/water.

1 Gallon of anti freeze to 50+ gallons of water.

Not really for total freeze protection,but enough to prevent a solid block of ice from forming inside the wheel. Ice slush is ok in a wheel,but not in an engine.

Well,that is my 2 cents worth.

Place your bets and spin the wheel.

Good luck!

A little OT,but worth mentioning.

I had a boot put on the inside of the tractor tire with the 1 inch puncture.This puncture looked like a cookie cutter,clean cut all the way around.

I had run over a hidden property marker,a 1 inch diameter steel rod.

Required an inside boot,and a tube.

The guy at the tire shop said I would have trouble with debris getting under the boot from the outside,and forcing the patch to fail.

I thought about this for a while,then developed a plan.

I cleaned the area thoroughly with PVC Primer.

When a rag came off clean,I filled the hole with black RTV Silicon.

I smoothed the surface of the silicone with an ice cube to give a smooth finish.

The patch is nearly invisible,it is between the cleats of the tire.

If you are not looking for it,you will not see it.

It has been holding for over 20 years now,with no signs of separation.

So far,so good.

Tractors were built to last back then (1963) Ford 21201 with backhoe and front loader

I have my fingers crossed.

Maybe it will last my entire tour on this planet.

Find yourself a good powder coater who specializes in patio leisure (outdoor, lawn, recreational) furniture restoration. For $50-150 per piece (depending on the type, size, material and construction) they will:

1. pick up & deliver (if you want)
2. sand blast
3. make minor repairs (yes a good one can weld cast aluminum)
4. give you a 10-yr. coating with a color from a "rainbow" selection
5. replace the fasteners, foot caps and other "plastics"
6. if needed re-upholster, replace or make new (if you don't have, but want) the cushions
7. You will be pleased with your next to brand new furniture

Disclaimer: I was the Quality Control/ Quality Assurance Manager for Houston's largest powder coater for 6 years and Second Shift Superintendent for 5 prior to that.

Great fan of Hammerite. Very forgiving of fairly poor preparation.

No dude, BEHR is the best primer for garden stuff. It's selling on homedepot.