I would have used a grinder to get it down to the bare metal. I would have also spray painted it. An extra hour of prepping, would save you hours in painting. I brushed and rolled my railing once, never again. I only had before 11 am to get it done, or else the sun will be on that side and dry it out real quick. So it took me like a week and about 2-3 hours a day, with just a brush and roller. Next time it will be spray painted.
yea I would have used a grinder with a Wire Wheel Brush to bare metal too then used a rust inhibitor + primer in multiple thin coats then an outdoor metal paint in multiple thin coats then a protective top coat
I tried to go bare metal but it seems impossible 2 days of work and there is still paint/rust. I used angle grinder. I beleive that it is nearly impossible to achieve this with normal tools. There are places where angle grinder doesnt fit or places downside that are very hard to reach.
I had a old set of rusted railings like these. I drilled them out, took them to a local sandblaster. I think I paid around $100 to have them taken down to bare metal. Then I was able to spray primer and finish before reinstalling them. Faster and easier than using a scraper and wire brush.
Mine look like the ones in the video if not worse and we will be replacing our front stairs this spring so plan to do almost exactly what you did. The difference being that I will do sand blasting. I will be most likely using Rustoleum’s marine paint.
I usually do the card test first. Then cut off some paint and pulverize it, then dab the powder with the test pen. I've gotten false negatives when just brushing the pen on a sliver cut.
@@thecurlymonster Absolutely beautiful. The instructions given here are very good. It's a LOT of scraping, but the better you do at scraping, the better the final result looks. I put down plastic tarps to keep the scraped paint chips out of my flower bed, and they were absolutely necessary. There was a huge mess. The final coat of paint I applied chips somewhat easily, but this is just another reason the rust proofing coat is so important.
Cut the railing off with a Sawsall 1 inch or so from the concrete. TAKE THE RAILINGS TO A SANDBLASTING BUSINESS AND HAVE THEM BLASTED Prime and paint the railings before welding them back on. Prep the stubs, weld the railing on, grind the weld, prime and paint. You can do 1 railing at a time so there is always a handrail there. If the railings are bolted down just unbolt them then reinstall them after blasting and painting.
I’ve watched several videos on how to sand down an old rusty metal wine rack and there was never any mention of checking for lead 🤔 Even though I’m finished I’m glad to have found this video
Rust once it occurs migrates under paint. The only sure way is to strip paint or wire wheel to bare metal. Then use a chemical treatment to neutralize the rust with something like Ospho Rust Treatment or an equivalent. Then Prime and Paint. I prefer to simply brush it on with structures like railings so the paint isn't spread so thickly. Treat the metal first to stop the rust before painting or the rust will come back within a few months. Do a good job and it can last for years.
How did it turn out. How many feet was it and how long you would say it took you to paint. I have over 900 linear feet to paint and just need few ideas or if I should hire a contractor.
Moro: "first we must check for lead paint. I'm going to take my utility knife here . . " Me with my angle grinder: "BAD TIMING WITH COVID, HOLD YOUR BREATH WE DON'T HAVE MASKS"
@Black Buick nice! Yah 150 wouldn't even touch mine. When I started using 40 and 60 grit, I went to a wire wheel and it went so much faster, finished with sandpaper in a step down fashion and sprayed black....much better than rusted pink!
You're right, it would really make it much nicer, but I would have pressure washed beforehand to clean off the loose scaling paint & rust from the rails. Then followed up with a light hosing after the paint was dry to get rid of any rust and powder from the scraping and brushing.
Its really an issue if it starts peeling and failing and especially when the work is being done to remove it. Obviously dont let the kiddos eat paint chips or lick the walls 😂
If you dont test for lead and a government agency catches you. You could be looking at a very hefty fine that is A LOT more expensive than a test kit, plastic, duct tape and a mask.
@@saulgoodman2018 During remodels of buildings and homes especially when a permit is required. Government agencies like City/County Inspectors, OSHA, Independent Inspectors perhaps hired by the owners, the banks, etc can and usually will show up on job sites. If you are a home owner doing that outside, especially in an older neighborhood a city inspector might just drive by or if your neighbors are busy bodies they might call in on you.
@@shawnr771 I did work, including painting outside my house lots of times. No inspector showed up, and now one complained. Even when there were inspectors looking at the reno that was across the street from me.
You don't want to mess with asbestos. Professionals need to do it because it has to be disposed of properly, and I'm not sure if homeowners are allowed to dispose of it in the appropriate landfills. Leave it to the pros, even if it costs a lot. Your life could depend on it.
They didnt typically use asbestos in iron work. Typically asbestos was used for its insulating properties and fire retardant. Both things that dont really apply to metal. It could be there just not likely.
What about by the lambs tongue where the handrail is separating from the channel? I noticed not many close ups of the final product, is that because of all the pitting?
nice paint job. Maru is a boss. Smart to prime it with oil based rust resistant paint, that will last so long. Also smart to completely remove all the old rust so that the paint will actually stick and not look chunky. Oil based paint stays on so much longer than water based paint. Just don't get it on your hands! Lol.
There is no way you can scrape all this paint down to metal. I spent 6 hours yesterday attempting this and only got halfway done. Why can't I just scrape the chips and sand down the rest til no chips?
Use a rust neutralizer (like Ospho) before the primer. If you want to get the paint off so you can get to all the rust use a paint stripper like Citristrip. It’s messy but it gets the old paint layers off.
My railing is over 50 years old, just learn to spend an hour every decade or so putting on a nice coat of Rust-Oleum or similar and your railing will last a lifetime.
I was expecting an April Fools joke- just spray it with some acrylic spray paint.. no prep work involved! Then topcoat with some Fluid Film to prevent future corrosion. Perfect for a hand rail!
There is a LOT easier way to do this. Who wants to do all that scraping. If i was going to "scrape" that hard, I'd use a wire brush on a drill or have it sand blasted. There is an easier way. For me, it's 3 steps. First, did you notice in this job, even after the 2nd coat of paint was put on, when they did a closeup you could see where there was missing paint from scraping. Once you paint the old paint still sticks up a couple of layers and the new paint sinks down against the bare metal. So once it's done their way it looks new but it also looks pitted if you are standing next to it. I think it looks very unprofessional. MY WAY. First, paint is just that paint. It was painted on brand new metal when that railing was installed brand spanking new. Now that it is falling off, curling up and rusting, it looks horrible. So the first thing I do is apply gel paint remover. Here is an example of how easy it takes paint off metal. Although I was looking for one with a railing. ua-cam.com/video/r15QccHHu4I/v-deo.html This product is biodegradable and works fast. citistrip although you may use one of your choosing. I just use that one. I painted the gel on my paint chipped rusty white metal outdoor railing. I tested it on about a 2 foot section first. I DID test my metal and it had no lead paint. I put it on and went back in the house to gather up some other tools. A small empty coffee can and my good old metal plumbers knife leftover from my grandfathers tools. I slide that knife up and down the four sides of the railing bars and that old paint came flying off. It works in as little as 30 minutes and can work up to 24 hours. I let it set about an hour and after I "scraped" off the old paint I put it in the old coffee can. I continued to do the rest of the railing on both sides of the porch. After I scraped them clean, I washed them with the power washer. The next day, I did apply some gel rust remover to quite a few pieces and a quick brush over the rest. Again, I power washed it clean as brand new. I let it dry a bit but then ran over the entire thing with my trusty old rags to dry it off. I did use some primer and then later two coats of white paint. You would think it was show room new. VERY little physical exertion compared to what this video showed you to do. I have one more to do and I think I'll try to video it although I've never posted a do-it-yourself.
Do note that this method was the only option for me, since my railings were lightly rusted, so the paint was still not easy to just scrape off like the video above. Do note, that Citristrip is going to make a mess of things, so protect anything you don't want to get dirty.
Lead poisoning is no joke. A young lady I worked with had lead paint in her house and she didn't know. Then her daughter started eating shoelaces! Took her to a doctor. Had lead poisoning that was causing neurological problems.
johnny feathers i sold paint for a large corporation for 12 years. The only penetrol I know of is an additive for oil paint to aid in flow and leveling. Maybe it could be used for rust protection, never heard that being used though. I'd do more research, or just use an actual trust inhibitor
Well it's not amusing when toddlers chew on windowsills because lead paint tastes sweet - and then they have learning disabilities. If you're just an old coot living in a house by yourself then who cares? Not me
Cool. Workers in PH doesnt test if there's lead. They just scrape and when the work is done, they dont clean the site. They let the home owners clean the mess. They eat where they work like on the site literally. Hahaha.
Did he just say that on the card if it shows pink that means there is traces of lead and then when he put the stick on the card and it turned reddish pink he said no trace? WHAT?😮
There was a “control” spot that you want to see turn pink/red to prove the card is working. It’s to ensure that a negative result is truly negative and not because the card is faulty.
I’ve watched these types of videos before and not one has tested for lead paint. It’s nice to see the professional work done!
Okay, as a science teacher, I was so excited to see that you did a “control” test for your lead test kit. That’s great!! Good science, yay!!
Just keep in mind: when the the joyful music starts to cue, the most tedious, painful, awful, sweaty, dirty part of the work commences.
😂😂 They're playing music to drown out the yelling and cursing.
Ain’t dat de truth!
I like Mauro. He is a great addition to the This Old House/Ask This Old House team.
Nice to see this done right. Fly by night jobs around here will just use a rag to wipe off the railing, then start painting directly.
I bought a needle scaler it did the whole job very quickly.
One of the most useful channels at UA-cam, made even more so by some of the comments.
Followed these instructions and got great results. Scraping was tedious, but resulted in a uniform beautiful result. Thanks for the tips, TOH.
Thanks for covering the lead removal process. Very informative.
Good segment by Mauro. I liked his emphasis on prep work!
I would have used a grinder to get it down to the bare metal.
I would have also spray painted it. An extra hour of prepping, would save you hours in painting.
I brushed and rolled my railing once, never again. I only had before 11 am to get it done, or else the sun will be on that side and dry it out real quick. So it took me like a week and about 2-3 hours a day, with just a brush and roller.
Next time it will be spray painted.
yea I would have used a grinder with a Wire Wheel Brush to bare metal too
then used a rust inhibitor + primer in multiple thin coats
then an outdoor metal paint in multiple thin coats then a protective top coat
@Mr. Meeseeks Yeah, but then it'll looks like crap.
This old paint was pealing and bubbling.
I tried to go bare metal but it seems impossible 2 days of work and there is still paint/rust. I used angle grinder. I beleive that it is nearly impossible to achieve this with normal tools. There are places where angle grinder doesnt fit or places downside that are very hard to reach.
Due to so many curves especially on more complex railings it is almost impossible to get it to bare metal.
@@pg8605 You use a grinder on as much as possible, and then the curves, you use sandpaper.
Always loved this old house
I like this new guy . Makes me feel represented lol . Viva la raza
That fact that we were watching a younger version of him, and now he is successful was the best twist I’ve ever seen
I had a old set of rusted railings like these. I drilled them out, took them to a local sandblaster. I think I paid around $100 to have them taken down to bare metal. Then I was able to spray primer and finish before reinstalling them. Faster and easier than using a scraper and wire brush.
I bet that you ended up with a better end result too.
They did that in one of their shows.
I like the way you think, thanks!
What I was thinking of doing! Glad it worked well for you.
Mine look like the ones in the video if not worse and we will be replacing our front stairs this spring so plan to do almost exactly what you did. The difference being that I will do sand blasting. I will be most likely using Rustoleum’s marine paint.
This is the best video to do this job.
Thank you
I usually do the card test first. Then cut off some paint and pulverize it, then dab the powder with the test pen. I've gotten false negatives when just brushing the pen on a sliver cut.
Good! Will you please come paint my railing? 🇺🇸
Funny - my railings are in the same condition, and I was planning to do this in the next month. Perfect timing and informative.
how did it turn out
@@thecurlymonster Absolutely beautiful. The instructions given here are very good. It's a LOT of scraping, but the better you do at scraping, the better the final result looks.
I put down plastic tarps to keep the scraped paint chips out of my flower bed, and they were absolutely necessary. There was a huge mess.
The final coat of paint I applied chips somewhat easily, but this is just another reason the rust proofing coat is so important.
fantastic, and best of all the last part 🙂
Cut the railing off with a Sawsall 1 inch or so from the concrete.
TAKE THE RAILINGS TO A SANDBLASTING BUSINESS AND HAVE THEM BLASTED
Prime and paint the railings before welding them back on.
Prep the stubs, weld the railing on, grind the weld, prime and paint.
You can do 1 railing at a time so there is always a handrail there.
If the railings are bolted down just unbolt them then reinstall them after blasting and painting.
Or just buy new railings. For the cost and effort to do all that a nice new railing without any pitting would look better. Perhaps more modern too.
We used to use that red oxide primer as an undercoat then a black industrial enamel.. I really hated to prep things like these railings..lol
I’ve watched several videos on how to sand down an old rusty metal wine rack and there was never any mention of checking for lead 🤔
Even though I’m finished I’m glad to have found this video
Rust once it occurs migrates under paint. The only sure way is to strip paint or wire wheel to bare metal. Then use a chemical treatment to neutralize the rust with something like Ospho Rust Treatment or an equivalent. Then Prime and Paint. I prefer to simply brush it on with structures like railings so the paint isn't spread so thickly. Treat the metal first to stop the rust before painting or the rust will come back within a few months. Do a good job and it can last for years.
I agree with your comments. Will you please come and do mine?? Pretty please?
@@e.conboy4286 Never said it was easy just the best way. BTW I'm 72.
@@richb313 You’re just 72? I’ve got freckles older than that! 83 here but hangin’ on! You sure you don’t want to come here and help? 🇺🇸
Just what I needed! I'm going to repaint my old rusty fence like this, thanks a lot for this video.
How did it turn out. How many feet was it and how long you would say it took you to paint. I have over 900 linear feet to paint and just need few ideas or if I should hire a contractor.
beautiful, you can tell they're old but they look great!
Long time fan of TOH.. Keep up great work!
Plus rolling it on the paint is thicker than in the aerosol
Moro: "first we must check for lead paint. I'm going to take my utility knife here . . "
Me with my angle grinder: "BAD TIMING WITH COVID, HOLD YOUR BREATH WE DON'T HAVE MASKS"
@Black Buick nice! Yah 150 wouldn't even touch mine. When I started using 40 and 60 grit, I went to a wire wheel and it went so much faster, finished with sandpaper in a step down fashion and sprayed black....much better than rusted pink!
If he could follow up by power washing the brick steps and landing, those freshly painted handrails would really pop !!!
You're right, it would really make it much nicer, but I would have pressure washed beforehand to clean off the loose scaling paint & rust from the rails. Then followed up with a light hosing after the paint was dry to get rid of any rust and powder from the scraping and brushing.
I agree, that would have been the best way to do it, for sure.
Nice instructions!
👍! Very helpful. I have to restore a civil war cannon replica (all iron).
Wow I just moved into to a house that I am renting and they did inform us about lead paint but I did not know or think about the railing
Its really an issue if it starts peeling and failing and especially when the work is being done to remove it. Obviously dont let the kiddos eat paint chips or lick the walls 😂
Do you know how thick of a nap you used on the roller?
What do you do if the paint you are testing is red? Is there a way to test that won't give you a false positive?
@@homesteadengineer That's not what I meant, I wanted to know how you test red paint for lead.
You can see the Broken weld at 0:17 and 0:43. And who painted the windows behind them at 5:55 ? If you don't test for lead, you don't have it.
If you dont test for lead and a government agency catches you.
You could be looking at a very hefty fine that is A LOT more expensive than a test kit, plastic, duct tape and a mask.
@@shawnr771, I know, I was just kind of kidding around. April fools. LOL.
@@shawnr771 How would they catch you?
@@saulgoodman2018 During remodels of buildings and homes especially when a permit is required. Government agencies like City/County Inspectors, OSHA, Independent Inspectors perhaps hired by the owners, the banks, etc can and usually will show up on job sites.
If you are a home owner doing that outside, especially in an older neighborhood a city inspector might just drive by or if your neighbors are busy bodies they might call in on you.
@@shawnr771 I did work, including painting outside my house lots of times. No inspector showed up, and now one complained.
Even when there were inspectors looking at the reno that was across the street from me.
Mauro is the freakin man!
if it does have led what do you do then?
Hello TOH , 24th thumbs up , Now it's hammer time !! 👍😁
Make sure to use Rustmort before painting or you will have rust again soon after.
Do I need to wait for the primer to dry before applying the paint?
Yep. Usually 24 hours.
Is that a rhetorical question? 😂
Thaks for good information
What should happen if the paint is lead? My gate is probably from the 30s.
A video needs to be done for asbestos as well as lot of older homes can contain that stuff as well!
Best leave that to professionals.
You don't want to mess with asbestos. Professionals need to do it because it has to be disposed of properly, and I'm not sure if homeowners are allowed to dispose of it in the appropriate landfills. Leave it to the pros, even if it costs a lot. Your life could depend on it.
@@cruman87 Understood but it is still good info to know as a homeowner or as tradesman so you know how to act accordingly to protect onesself.
If you don't touch it, it wouldn't be a problem.
They didnt typically use asbestos in iron work. Typically asbestos was used for its insulating properties and fire retardant. Both things that dont really apply to metal. It could be there just not likely.
What about by the lambs tongue where the handrail is separating from the channel? I noticed not many close ups of the final product, is that because of all the pitting?
nice paint job. Maru is a boss. Smart to prime it with oil based rust resistant paint, that will last so long. Also smart to completely remove all the old rust so that the paint will actually stick and not look chunky. Oil based paint stays on so much longer than water based paint. Just don't get it on your hands! Lol.
Was a gallon necessary
Do you need to use primer first ?
Thanks guys, u r so good, n very helpful for us.
Anyone know how to properly dispose of the paint soaked rollers and these kinds of paints? I've heard cautionary tales about oil based paints.
What primer? Did you treat the rust?
There is no way you can scrape all this paint down to metal. I spent 6 hours yesterday attempting this and only got halfway done.
Why can't I just scrape the chips and sand down the rest til no chips?
Use a rust neutralizer (like Ospho) before the primer. If you want to get the paint off so you can get to all the rust use a paint stripper like Citristrip. It’s messy but it gets the old paint layers off.
you guys rock!
Pressure wash your bricks it will look amazing
How many hours did the whole job take ?
Would the process be the same for an interior metal stair railing?
Why did you not allow 24 hours for the primer to fully dry (as suggested by Rustoleum)?
My railing is over 50 years old, just learn to spend an hour every decade or so putting on a nice coat of Rust-Oleum or similar and your railing will last a lifetime.
@Black Buick It's always good to hear about things that have lasted the test of time.
Do you mean you just painted over it after dusting it off? I’m in!
@@e.conboy4286 Pretty much. May have been a little more prep than just "dusting it off" but not much.
you guys aways know what project I'm about to do! thanks!
No holes to fill in? Mine has holes.
Beautiful
MORE OF THIS GUY
Thanks
I'm going to dip mine in chrome!!
After cleaning and before applying the primer, applying a rust removal would be better I think...
How much do you charge for a job like this?
What kind of pair he used ? DTN ? Couldn’t understand him
DTM =direct to metal ....water based yet rust preventive paint. About $60 a gallon
senorfesterhairball thank you for the response
Only a one man painting job , kevin wanted to be famous
I don't understand why spray painting the railing is not a good method...?
I was expecting an April Fools joke- just spray it with some acrylic spray paint.. no prep work involved! Then topcoat with some Fluid Film to prevent future corrosion. Perfect for a hand rail!
Will this work on indoor railing?
I prefer paint glove.
Now get Rodger over there to fix that yard
Yep, turn up wearing white trousers....and somehow manage to stay clean 🤔
Don't know who did the subtitles but DTM means Direct to Metal, not the rack tomato.
Am I able to purchase a lead test? I really want to repaint my railings.
Should be about $10 or so at homedepot / lowes
This is easy, try doing two houses worth that surrounds the entire house
Great job
Ugh... My fence is covering nearly the whole lot. It's going to take me as a lone wolf forever.
Have fun with that, wolf man!
Grinders and an hvlp...
How much for that
it's a shame they didnt fix that broken weld on the end of the railing, all that scraping and grinding will go to waste in a year
Just duct tape it.
Thats what I was saying
Isn’t spray paint is better than brushing it on...? Paint apply with a brush tend to peel away easily.
Take all that lead paint with all that work and dump it in the trash. Way to go murica.. These waste should be handed over to chemical waste disposal!
Power tools will go a long way to shorten the job!
Use Hammerite!
Pressure wash the steps and walkway now.
There is a LOT easier way to do this. Who wants to do all that scraping. If i was going to "scrape" that hard, I'd use a wire brush on a drill or have it sand blasted. There is an easier way. For me, it's 3 steps. First, did you notice in this job, even after the 2nd coat of paint was put on, when they did a closeup you could see where there was missing paint from scraping. Once you paint the old paint still sticks up a couple of layers and the new paint sinks down against the bare metal. So once it's done their way it looks new but it also looks pitted if you are standing next to it. I think it looks very unprofessional.
MY WAY. First, paint is just that paint. It was painted on brand new metal when that railing was installed brand spanking new.
Now that it is falling off, curling up and rusting, it looks horrible. So the first thing I do is apply gel paint remover. Here is an example of how easy it takes paint off metal. Although I was looking for one with a railing. ua-cam.com/video/r15QccHHu4I/v-deo.html
This product is biodegradable and works fast. citistrip although you may use one of your choosing. I just use that one.
I painted the gel on my paint chipped rusty white metal outdoor railing. I tested it on about a 2 foot section first. I DID test my metal and it had no lead paint. I put it on and went back in the house to gather up some other tools. A small empty coffee can and my good old metal plumbers knife leftover from my grandfathers tools. I slide that knife up and down the four sides of the railing bars and that old paint came flying off. It works in as little as 30 minutes and can work up to 24 hours. I let it set about an hour and after I "scraped" off the old paint I put it in the old coffee can. I continued to do the rest of the railing on both sides of the porch.
After I scraped them clean, I washed them with the power washer. The next day, I did apply some gel rust remover to quite a few pieces and a quick brush over the rest. Again, I power washed it clean as brand new. I let it dry a bit but then ran over the entire thing with my trusty old rags to dry it off. I did use some primer and then later two coats of white paint. You would think it was show room new. VERY little physical exertion compared to what this video showed you to do. I have one more to do and I think I'll try to video it although I've never posted a do-it-yourself.
Do note that this method was the only option for me, since my railings were lightly rusted, so the paint was still not easy to just scrape off like the video above. Do note, that Citristrip is going to make a mess of things, so protect anything you don't want to get dirty.
Will you come and do mine? The neighbors will be impressed!
Lead poisoning is no joke. A young lady I worked with had lead paint in her house and she didn't know. Then her daughter started eating shoelaces! Took her to a doctor. Had lead poisoning that was causing neurological problems.
Has anybody ever used penetrol as a rust protector? I have a buddy that used to undercoat his vehicles with it.
johnny feathers i sold paint for a large corporation for 12 years. The only penetrol I know of is an additive for oil paint to aid in flow and leveling. Maybe it could be used for rust protection, never heard that being used though. I'd do more research, or just use an actual trust inhibitor
@@artiet5982 Thats a first for me man.. Thats the only thing i use penetrol for
Doesnt it sound silly to go through so much work over lead then to just throw away. There is got to be a better disposal process?
Lead is a naturally occurring chemical element.
Of course the painter had to be Hispanic!🤣🤣🤣
(I’m Hispanic myself and I do construction as well)
Yea, Hispanol!
Jeez the asmr vibes
Piotl can't work on projects like this.
possibly cheaper to replace if you had to pay a tradie to do all that prep work >
I find the lead paranoia amusing, I'm watching this while I'm loading lead shotgun shells. No protection...
You rebel you lol
Well it's not amusing when toddlers chew on windowsills because lead paint tastes sweet - and then they have learning disabilities. If you're just an old coot living in a house by yourself then who cares? Not me
Don't you wash your hands before eating?
Lead causes brain malfunction, so this checks out
Cool. Workers in PH doesnt test if there's lead. They just scrape and when the work is done, they dont clean the site. They let the home owners clean the mess. They eat where they work like on the site literally. Hahaha.
Why use a DTM paint over a primer? DTM is designed to use without primer, but I agree that primer should be used here. Why DTM?
Oops. Wrong channel. UA-cam messed up....sorry
Did he just say that on the card if it shows pink that means there is traces of lead and then when he put the stick on the card and it turned reddish pink he said no trace? WHAT?😮
There was a “control” spot that you want to see turn pink/red to prove the card is working. It’s to ensure that a negative result is truly negative and not because the card is faulty.
Media blasting would have taken less than 10 minutes.
I hate when the painted flake'ed away from da metal
Some of that is people giving it a coat of latex which is a big no no