Rusting posts. What to do?
#1
05-30-10, 08:19 PM
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: USA
Posts: 62
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes
on
0 Posts
Rusting posts. What to do?
I live in earthquake country (California) so it concerns me that 3 posts help hold a patio cover next to my house. 2 of the posts are rusting down near the bottom (see pic of one). The posts appear to be made of steel or galvanized steel. I'm not sure what to do. I could pour some concrete around the pipes. Maybe I could install some sort of steel clamps around these rusting posts. Or maybe I could install some new pipes along side of these rusting pipes.
#2
05-31-10, 04:07 AM
The cosmetic fix would be to sand the metal down and apply a coat of rust inhibitive primer followed by 2 coats of a solvent based exterior enamel. This would also slow down the rate of deterioration. I wouldn't pour any concrete without first painting or replacing the metal posts.
#3
06-01-10, 07:17 PM
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: USA
Posts: 62
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes
on
0 Posts
The rust is too thick to sand down to the metal. After scraping with a shovel and sanding with sand paper it's pretty flat and smooth, but not smooth enough to get down to the metal.
Do you know if rust needs oxygen and/or water in order to eat away at steel? If I sand it down as best as I can and THEN apply my coats of primer and enamel would that be helpful?
Do you know if rust needs oxygen and/or water in order to eat away at steel? If I sand it down as best as I can and THEN apply my coats of primer and enamel would that be helpful?
#4
06-02-10, 04:29 AM
You might want to use a primer like rustoleum's rusty metal primer. You still want to clean the metal up as good as feasible. You might also try a wire brush or wire wheel on a drill. There are also some rust neutralizers you can try. Paint alone might not entirely stop the rusting process but it's sure to slow it down 
#5
09-09-10, 09:00 PM
How much steel are there left? Is the post still strong enough to hold your patio?
Exposure to oxygen is needed for rust to occur, and primer will help. As long as its not rusting from the inside also!
Exposure to oxygen is needed for rust to occur, and primer will help. As long as its not rusting from the inside also!
#6
09-09-10, 10:28 PM
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: USA
Posts: 62
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for the info all. I scraped these poles as best I could. For most of it I could not scrape down to the steel. Just too rusted. So then I primed and painted it with metal paints. Then I filled it in with concrete up to almost ground level. The rust didn't start until about 6" below ground level. There is existing concrete fill that starts at about 2 to 2 1/2 feet down. My main concern is that if there's an earthquake I don't want these poles to crack and collapse. I feel better now that I've done my preventative measures. Waiting for the "big one" here in LA...
