I swear I have so many house questions on here...but I trust you guys more than anyone!

We have a railing that is black but it has corroded and rusted, therefore making the porch rusted too. How do we fix the existing metal railing? Do I sand it and then paint it with something specific?
And...how can I get the rust off of the concrete? Will a pressure washer do it?

By Trina~moderator on Monday, April 18, 2005 - 02:37 pm:

Oh man, you just brought me down memory lane! One of my chores as a teen was to de-rust the black iron railings on our front steps. Let's see, if my memory serves me correctly, I used a wire brush and heavy duty sandpaper to remove the rust and then painted with a special metal/rustoleum (sp?) type paint. However, that was MANY years ago so there may be an easier solution now.

By Rayelle on Monday, April 18, 2005 - 02:58 pm:

I had to get rust off metal railings recently. At the hardware store there was an attachment for the drill that was a flat, circular wire brush the guy recommended instead of sandpaper. It was under $5 and worked great.

By Palmbchprincess on Monday, April 18, 2005 - 03:03 pm:

CLR would be my suggestion. Remove the rust with that, and then ask someone at the hardware store about refinishing the railing.

By Yjja123 on Monday, April 18, 2005 - 04:26 pm:

pool guys just used muraric acid to remove a rust spot (they left an old rusty tool on our pool deck and the rust went right through our concrete)

By Annie2 on Monday, April 18, 2005 - 10:03 pm:

Trina, I had to laugh. That was my special chore, too. I did it the same as you but used a heavy grade sandpaper.

Would a power washer remove the stains on the concrete?

By Ginny~moderator on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 - 06:24 am:

I don't know if CLR will help with the railing. I am faced with doing mine this summer. I have wire brush attachments for my electric drill, and this is what I use to remove all the rust (wearing goggles, long sleeves, and probably a mouth/nose mask for safety). Then scrub thoroughly, use Rustoleum primer, and then Rustoleum black paint.

As for the concrete stains, I'd do a google or ask your hardware store. I am thinking about using muriatic acid to remove adhesive (from an indoor/outdoor rug that was there when we bought the house) from a concrete porch, but haven't explored it very far because the word "acid" gives me the heebie-jeebies.