Stopping rust coming back through railings and gates

Getting back to sound metal

We take failed coatings and active rust back to bare or sound metal using mechanical abrasion rather than simply keying a surface that already has corrosion underneath it. Pitted areas in particular need attention, since rust hides in the pits even after a surface looks clean.

• Mechanical abrasion used on failed or rusted sections rather than a quick sand
• Pitted areas checked closely, since corrosion can hide below the visible surface
• Bare metal treated promptly to avoid flash rusting before priming

Why the primer choice matters more than the topcoat

A direct-to-metal or corrosion-inhibiting primer suited to the specific substrate does most of the long-term protective work. A good topcoat over the wrong primer, or no primer at all, still leaves the metal vulnerable underneath a coating that looks fine on day one.

Joints, welds and fixing points

Corrosion nearly always starts at joints, welds and where a railing meets a stone or concrete base, since these are the points most likely to hold moisture. We give these areas specific attention rather than treating the whole railing as one uniform surface.

• Base fixings and ground contact points checked closely
• Weld seams cleaned and primed with particular care
• Any movement in fixings noted and flagged separately

Ongoing maintenance between full repaints

A light annual check for early rust bloom, caught and touched up promptly, extends the life of a full repaint considerably. Waiting until rust has broken through visibly across a whole gate usually means a full strip-back is needed rather than a simple touch-up.