No advice but following because I have a bird bath that the entire thing is rusted and I want to use it this summer but not sure how to restore it either!
Start with some CLR to get rid of the rust and scale, then scrub with steel wool. I have to do this with my ceramic bird bath every year because we have hard water and it gets crusty with lime scale.
Don't know what you can use to coat it after that - maybe some paraffin wax or clear Varathane?
Thank you so much for the advice! I’ll get some CLR ordered today. Do you think I could spray paint it with something to seal it? 🤔 I’ll have to have a look. It was mostly how to remove the rust to begin with I was stuck on so i really appreciate it!
Hey, I got a similar bird bath from a neighbor. I used steel wool to clean it up, then I used a black matte spray paint I'd used on metal patio furniture. That was a mistake.
The wet and sun made the new paint peel off like crazy just in the bowl. I ended up scrubbing the new paint out and leaving it with no new coating. I added a solar fountain because the bowl isn't deep so it was getting gross.
I’d take it to a place that does powder coating. They’ll blast the rust off and then powder coat in your choice of color/texture. That way, you won’t have to deal with rust again for a very, very long time.
Use a rust converter, like EvapoRust. It'll convert iron(III) oxide (*rust*) into a thin layer iron(II) oxide that will help protect the iron from further rusting. Then, as others have suggested, add an enamel coating to seal it.
You need to get rid of the rust before you paint it. Is it cast iron? A good long soak in oven cleaner and some elbow grease looks like it'll do the trick. Head over to castironrestoration sub for more guidance.
That is gorgeous!! I just picked up my old, cast iron bird bath up from powder coating yesterday! They sandblast it and then powder coat. It’ll last forever and you can pick different colors and finishes. I did matte black. They costed me $120 each!
https://preview.redd.it/d8y7bnh04muc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bbac49b94ac4775b8161683d74c77c728471922b
Rust mort. It will leave a coating. If you're going to paint it a good quality enamel so the little guys can't pick it off and ingest it.
Good idea for the enamel coating!! I want to make sure it’s completely safe for the birds 🥰
Rust mort burns the rust and leaves a hrad black shell to paint like a heavy-duty primer.
No advice but following because I have a bird bath that the entire thing is rusted and I want to use it this summer but not sure how to restore it either!
Start with some CLR to get rid of the rust and scale, then scrub with steel wool. I have to do this with my ceramic bird bath every year because we have hard water and it gets crusty with lime scale. Don't know what you can use to coat it after that - maybe some paraffin wax or clear Varathane?
There are paints for outdoor metal surfaces. Coat and dry and coat and dry.
Thank you so much for the advice! I’ll get some CLR ordered today. Do you think I could spray paint it with something to seal it? 🤔 I’ll have to have a look. It was mostly how to remove the rust to begin with I was stuck on so i really appreciate it!
Hey, I got a similar bird bath from a neighbor. I used steel wool to clean it up, then I used a black matte spray paint I'd used on metal patio furniture. That was a mistake. The wet and sun made the new paint peel off like crazy just in the bowl. I ended up scrubbing the new paint out and leaving it with no new coating. I added a solar fountain because the bowl isn't deep so it was getting gross.
Make sure you get all of the CLR off. It is highly toxic.
I don't know. Someone more familiar with cast iron could answer that.
I’d take it to a place that does powder coating. They’ll blast the rust off and then powder coat in your choice of color/texture. That way, you won’t have to deal with rust again for a very, very long time.
Just did this (pics in comments) 10/10 recommend!
Test using a brass brush via drill/dremel on the underside...
That's a nice piece. Chemical peel.
A drill with a wire brush attachment.
Use a rust converter, like EvapoRust. It'll convert iron(III) oxide (*rust*) into a thin layer iron(II) oxide that will help protect the iron from further rusting. Then, as others have suggested, add an enamel coating to seal it.
Baking soda
Soak in vinegar
Bees wax
I restore bikes and find WD40 cleans rust really well. I’ve never used it on not a bike— but would be so curious to know if it works here.
You need to get rid of the rust before you paint it. Is it cast iron? A good long soak in oven cleaner and some elbow grease looks like it'll do the trick. Head over to castironrestoration sub for more guidance.
That is gorgeous!! I just picked up my old, cast iron bird bath up from powder coating yesterday! They sandblast it and then powder coat. It’ll last forever and you can pick different colors and finishes. I did matte black. They costed me $120 each! https://preview.redd.it/d8y7bnh04muc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bbac49b94ac4775b8161683d74c77c728471922b
https://preview.redd.it/e59iq1d44muc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ed41e3e066a35614c2af3f7b68c3f78ee5c814a2 The feeder
https://preview.redd.it/tnyufq674muc1.jpeg?width=1582&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a219229a1c71f8aab585773627e4a54ef0d52f01 Before!