Weatherproofing a Rusty Horseshoe.

[MJP]

SWMBO has just come home dragging a huge horseshoe behind her - it's the biggest one I've ever seen, must have been made for some knight's charger!

Thickly covered in rust, my first thought was a good dose of the wire wheel then plenty of black gloss paint but no, she likes the look of the rust!

So, how do I go about sealing a very rusty horseshoe before I hang it up outside?

I thought about soaking it in BLO a few times, build up a good layer - it would get me in Jacob's good books if nothing else....

Any better way of coating a rusty horseshoe while preserving the oh so attractive rusty look?

Martin.

 

[porker]

I've used Briwax on rusty metal before but it's lived inside so not sure how it would fare outside.

 

[MJP]

Thanks Porker - my wife did in fact suggest waxing it but I fear that with all the rain we get I probably need something a bit more durable!

Martin.

 

[Harbo]

Leave it rusty, it will still probably outlast you.

Rod

 

[MikeG.]

If it's rusty, there is nothing you can put on it with any hope of lasting. Just leave it outside as it is. You won't notice any change within your lifetime.

 

[Rorschach]

Rust will burst through any finish applied so I would just leave it.

 

[novocaine]

A hermetically sealed clear plastic box, make sure you evacuated all air from it before you put it up or it'll just rust more.

let her be, rust doesn't rust, if it's thick enough it's protecting the metal underneath now. it's the secret to coretec steel (you know that lovely stuff they insist on lining buildings and building stupid signs out of at the moment).

 

[Jacob]

....e likes the look of the rust!

So, how do I go about sealing a very rusty horseshoe before I hang it up outside?

I thought about soaking it in BLO a few times, build up a good layer - it would get me in Jacob's good books if nothing else....

.....

:lol: My fiddling about with linseed oil is experimental (I don't own any shares in flax fields!) but it does seem to work.
Painted a cast iron gate and some door furniture with oil as primer plus black linseed paint two years back and it seems to be lasting well. Brushed down a bit first but was still rusty with old paint stuck on in patches, no sand-blasting or anything.
I expect the oil alone would do OK. You can't "soak" metal it isn't absorbent - just a quick brush over should do, and very easy to repeat as necessary. Doesn't seem to need thick layers but these would build up over the years with routing maintenance.

 

[MJP]

Thanks folks.

Seems like the general opinion is to let it be, which is what I will do.

However, I do fancy trying soaking *something* very rusty in BLO, saturating the thick rust layer and building up a good coating, "just to see" so I'm on the lookout for a suitable subject now.

All good fun.

Martin.

 

[novocaine]

want to try my car?

 

[MJP]

Would do, but my bucket isn't big enough!

Martin.

 

[toolsntat]

One of the Tractor collectors I know swears by the clear fluid that separates when you let milk go stale.
Must get around to trying it (hammer)
Cheers Andy

 

[novocaine]

One of the Tractor collectors I know swears by the clear fluid that separates when you let milk go stale.
Must get around to trying it (hammer)
Cheers Andy

No Whey.

 

[flying haggis]

that wouldnt have o curd to me to do that

 

[MusicMan]

A hermetically sealed clear plastic box, make sure you evacuated all air from it before you put it up or it'll just rust more.

let her be, rust doesn't rust, if it's thick enough it's protecting the metal underneath now. it's the secret to coretec steel (you know that lovely stuff they insist on lining buildings and building stupid signs out of at the moment).

The hermetically sealed box would work.

But thick rust isn't quite the secret of Corten steel. Normal rust is "incoherent" with the base metal. It expands a lot when it forms, hence doesn't stay "coherent" with the base and flakes off. Old iron in a wet atmosphere will rust right through in time. Corten, or weathering steel, is alloyed so that the "rust" has smaller expansion and stays coherent with the metal, protecting it after a certain amount has formed. In the same way as the natural coherent oxide protects the highly reactive aluminium. Thus Corten doesn't need galvanising or painting. It stills looks rusty though!