Rust

[504RP]

Cut a lot of rusty 2 7/8 drill stem into 8 foot fence posts. Am using the post to attach cattle panels too. Am making a pen 150 x 250 foot. Panels are made of pipe that is similar to stainless steel. Looks like stainless but don't think it is. Have seen really old panels like what I have that hasn't rusted.

Am waiting the pen to look good and want to paint the pipe post with something so that they look good and won't rust. Consider soaking the post in muriatic acid to get rid of the rust before I paint them but haven't ever used muriatic acid before. Can see a lot of hazards of using and disposing of it afterwards.

Anyone know of a paint of method to paint these post in a safe manner to stop the rust. Too many to use a wire wheel on.

 

[moses388]

Rust-oleum {click here}
I would remove loose rust by scraping or brushing. Not trying to remove the rust, just knock off loose pieces. It may rust again with time. Welding/closing ends of the post may slow down internal corrosion.

 

[bird dog]

Cap the pipe as noted. Buy you a good 6" cup brush that will fit on a electric grinder. It will go faster than you think. Clean the dust from the pipe with some rags after brushing. Use rustoleum or go by Sherwin- Williams and get a good exterior enamel paint. Tell them what you are doing, they will show you a good product. Paint the posts before you put them in the ground preferably in the shade and before it gets hot on a low humidity day. If the pipe is real hot, your results will disappoint. If there is any oil film on the pipe, the paint will not bind. If the humidity is high, wait.

If you use Rustoleum you can having matching paint in spray cans for doing touch up. That makes it easy. The rustoleum leather color looks good even if some rust spots come through.