How to Treat a Rusted Tin Roof

Treatment and repair of a rusted tin roof can be easily achieved at home through some perseverance and hard work. Rust on your tin roof can cause major damage and compromise the safety of the structure. Therefore, you need to attend to the problem at the onset to reduce and limit the extent of the damage. Given below is a simple process that you can follow to remove rust and treat your tin roof.

Step 1: Selecting the Right Time

Any treatment of a rusted tin roof is best done in hot and dry weather. Do not attempt to carry out any repair jobs while it is raining or damp, as it will hamper the process. It is strongly recommended that you check out the weather forecast for a complete week from a reliable source before you start your project.

Step 2: Prepping the Surface

The first step in repairing a rusted tin roof is to prepare the rusted surface. If only a small part of the surface is rusted, you can remove the rust with the help of sandpaper. However, if a large area of the roof is rusted, sanding a large surface with sandpaper will be time-consuming and tiring. Therefore, you can use a handheld drill with a wire wheel brush to remove rust from a large surface. Whichever method you use, ensure that you sand 3 to 4 inches extra around the rusted area. Also, if the rust has reached corners and crevices, it is advisable that you use sandpaper on these areas for easy access.

Step 3: Cleaning the Surface

After you have removed the rust, it is very necessary that you thoroughly clean the surface before further treatment. Paint does not bond well with a surface that is unclean and has dust deposited on it. Therefore, clean the surface with some strong detergent and a handheld cleaning brush to ensure that there is no dirt or dust sticking to the surface before painting. After washing off the detergent with plenty of water, it is important to dry off the surface immediately to avoid “flash rust.” Then proceed to complete the cleaning by wiping the surface with a cloth wipe dampened with some paint thinner.

Step 4: Primer Application

Now your surface is ready for primer application. Primer is applied to ensure the longevity of the tin surface and to ensure that rust does not settle again soon. Apply one coat of red oxide primer with the help of a roller over the cleaned surface. Ensure that you also cover any crevices and corners with the help of a paintbrush. Wait for at least 2 hours for the primer to dry. Then apply a second coat of primer and leave it to dry overnight. This process is best done when the sun is high on the sky so that the primer coats get good sunlight to dry completely.

Step 5: Paint the Surface

Once the primer has completely dried off, paint the surface with acrylic latex paint with the help of a roller and a brush. Let the first coat of paint dry for 6 hours and apply a second coat.