Any rust experts here?

[yhelothar]

I'm actually looking to paint a rusty fence, but I figure there'd probably be more rust experts here.

I don't care about the quality of the finish, I just want something that'll hold up against rust so I wouldn't have to do this again for as long as possible.

So I've done a lot of googling and I feel like there's some contradiction between some of the information I've found and I'm trying to sort that out.

First, I looked into ways to paint over rust, since completely removing all the rust would be next to impossible. There are two ways to do this, rust converters and encapsulators. The latter seems to be a better option according to this guy's 3 year test.

http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum/showthread.php?t=190110

Then I found this thread where this guy tested many rust encapsulators and put it through many torture tests over five years. The rustoleum rusty metal primer seemed to hold up pretty well here despite being a fraction of the cost of all the other primers.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/vi...tart=260&sid=fabb399463bbd7857755ddaa4fc616e0

So only parts of the fence is rusty. For the parts that still have paint over it, what should I use? I know I'll need to sand it, but what primer should I use? I read that rust encapsulators need rust for it to adhere well. The rusty metal primer page for rustoleum says it's for painting over heavy rust and if I'm painting over clean/light rust, I should use a different product. I read in another forum that the POR-15 encapsulator adheres to rust best as well too. So it doesn't seem like I can use these products over the entire fence. What would I use to paint over the old sanded over paint then? Would any primer do or should I use an epoxy primer to get a better seal?

Then OP of that thread recommended using a rust converter before using the rust encapsulator. If what I read about the rust encapsulators needing rust to adhere well, this doesn't seem like a good idea?

I just went out, degreased, washed, scrubbed and dried them all off.

None of them held up to what I did to them over the last 3 years. They are all bubbled up. Scraping off the bubbles, there is a ton of rust under all of them. It's all equal, I'll take some pics tomorrow in the sun. None of them seem to 'encapsulate' and 'stop' rust. Unfortunately, there is no magic formula that you can just apply to rusty metal and it 'goes away'.

Here's my .02 on what I will do for chassis work..

1. Grind/wire wheel/sand as much of the parts/rust as I can get to

2. Use some kind of rust converter (whatever is cheap)

3. Grind/wire wheel/sand some more.

4. Replace the metal as needed

5. Clean it up as best as I can like it was going to the painter

6. Use any of the 4 products.


I know this 'test' is very rudimentary and there is no clear cut winner. But I will say this....

Current prices for quarts:

POR15 $45
RB $45
E $37
M $27

I would buy Masterseries CT because he's kept the price down while the other companies try to reformulate and raise prices. Chuck is also a VW enthusiast.

Others from the thread recommend prepping the metal first with phosphoric acid before using the rust encapsulator. If I do this, do I just spray it on and hose it off? Do I spray it on and brush it in with a wire brush?

So to sum it up, here's my best guess on how to go about this.

1. Sand/wire brush off loose rust
2. Spray on a phosphoric acid metal prep and hose it off.
3. Brush rustoleum's rusty metal primer over the rusty parts of the metal.
4. Brush primer over the entire fence.
5. Topcoat, oil based.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Is this a fence that is already in the ground, or something that you can pick up and bring into a garage?

If it's already in the ground, the key factor is going to be doing all of the work on a warm, dry day. If you do it on a humid day, things aren't going to stick to the fence as well.