I plan to put in a stair railing for a small set of exterior granite steps ( four steps) , using either a pipe railing or having a railing shop fabricate something using iron. The railing will consist of end posts with an over-the -top hand rail ( no balusters).
I have been looking at similar railings in the area and noticed how many of them seem to have some rust, particularly at the base. What is the best combination of primer and paint to avoid that?
One local fab shop says that they subcontract out the painting to a contractor that uses baked on powder paint, but they price that at $20. per foot. Another shop sprays on a primer coat followed by two finish coats. I had been thinking about priming with a two part epoxy primer, such as the one made by Abatron. I use I live southern New Hampshire and do not use salt on the steps.
All advice and comments are appreciated.
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I had a railing shop custom make railings for my front steps. They're aluminum with a factory finish. It was $600 installed. That was cheaper than I expected. They're maintenance-free and meet all codes (which means balusters spaced less than 4" apart). The picture is just one side. The other side is the same.
If you really want to use steel (I assume it would be steel rather than iron), I don't think a 2-part epoxy will perform any better than an alkyd metal primer. The posts will always be in contact with the masonry so it's important to prime and paint before installation.
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Spring for the powder coating, you won't regret it. $35 lineal foot where I live. Or try to find a product called Hammerite by Zinnzer, not sold everywhere because of VOC's but a truly wonderful paint for any metal product, comes in white, silver and black.
DonCanDo:
I had not considered using aluminum. I will check with a local railing shop to see if it is availablePelipeth:
Thanks for the info on Hammerite; it looks like good stuff and appears to be available through Ace hardware. It is made by Masterchem, the same company that makes Kilz products. Danno:
Hammerite comes in a spray can version. The application notes suggest 3-5 coats ( 15 minutes between coats) to get the recommended 4 mil thickness.I am a big fan of two part epoxy, so if anyone has had experience ( positive or negative) with it on metal for exterior applications, I would be interested in hearing about that.Thanks to all for your inputs.
ajs,
Have an iron railing to do also and plan to use urethane enamel. Have some black left over from a frame off restoration of my p/u. - r
Only thing I know is the last time I painted metal railings I used cans of spray paint (masked everything first) and it was sooo much easier than brush or roller!
If you are having it fabricated, the posts that imbed in the steps, if there are any, could be stainless steel, with the rest being plain steel. Powder coating is the most durable coating you'll get. Shop around, you might do better on price.
If you want to use paint, two part epoxy primers are very durable and tenacious. Epoxies don't hold gloss well, though, so standard practice is to use urethane as the finish coats.