When rust sets in it’s easy to think that there is nothing that we can do to fix it, when actually a lot of the time you can paint over it without having to waste your time trying to remove it. You can give it a completely new look, and also protect the surface from further degradation, with minimal effort.
Preparation
For a rusted surface surface preparation aims to remove mill scale, rust and foreign matter. It doesn’t take long, and the more successfully you can prepare the surface the more successful and longer lasting the end result will be. All you will need is a wire brush, a scraper and some cleaner/degreaser. Remove all of the loose bits of rust and paint with the wire brush, as well as decontaminating the surface with the cleaner. You don’t have to remove surface rust, but loose sections need to be gone to give you a smooth surface to paint on top of.
If there is a previous coat of paint then lightly sand the surface. Not to remove the paint, but just to key it to allow better adhesion.
All you need to do then is clean the surface down, and then allow it to dry before painting on top of it.
These few quick and easy steps will give you a much better surface to paint on to; the better the surface the better the paint will work.
Priming
Using a primer is not always necessary. Often it depends on the level of protection that you need, the environment that it is going to be used in, the level of rusting, and also the longevity that is needed. However, assuming that you need a primer, use Rust-Oleum 769 Damp Proof Primer. This product penetrates into the rust, all the way down to the metal, to ensure optimum corrosion protection. It expels the air as well as the moisture from the metal and encases the rust.
When used alongside 1060/1080 to prime the non-rusted areas, and then 7500 Alkythane as a topcoat the surface achieves corrosion class C4 according to ISO 12944. If the entire surface is rusted then 1060/1080 is not essential. But this system gives you a long-lasting
The 769 primer is actually the first product that Rust-Oleum made, having discovered and developed their rust-inhibiting features. Since 1921 it has been used as the ideal primer to prevent rust, whilst also being able to dry overnight without generating unpleasant odours.
Direct to Rust
There are a variety of options if you are looking for a one-coat system directly onto rust. Combicolor is a great time saving product, as it is a primer and topcoat in one, and it has very good opacity, which means it gives a good finish in less coats. There is a primer that you can use for longer lasting anti-rust protection: ideal for general industrial exposures, normal humidity for interior and exterior applications that are to be re-coated in Combicolor. But Combicolor is high quality enough to be used without a primer, and it’s rust-inhibiting qualities are more than sufficient for everyday jobs.
Get Creative
Once you’ve primed the surface then the rust stops being an issue (provided it has been done properly). This means you can do whatever it is that best suits the job that you are doing. We have an extensive range of paints for metal and rust that can be tinted to over 70,000 different colours and sheens: including Combicolor and Alkythane. By using a damp proof primer, or a rust inhibiting product then you have saved yourself the time and effort of removing all of the rust and corrosion.
For industrial jobs Noxyde is the ideal product: it provides the highest level of rust and corrosion protection. It’s unrivalled in terms of corrosion protection and it will protect the surface for a minimum of 10 years*
If you’re struggling, or if you don’t know which rust-prevention system you should go for, then contact us on 01902 429190, or you can email us at info@andrewscoatings.co.uk. A member of our technical team will be more thn happy to set you down the right path.
* All guarantees are subject to approval by our Technical Department prior to purchase and/or use.