Curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing 1989-2025
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Finishing iron custom staircase
2006
I made a steel framed "inlaid" ornate cast iron interior partial spiral staircase. The staircase is new in an old Victorian house with old fireplaces, etc. I'm not sure how to finish it-- to get the mill scale off I could possibly surround it with heavy tarp and sandblast it. Yes, indoors! Or perhaps use acid, but I obviously couldn't provide a bath, so I'm not sure how this would work. Mechanical prepping would be very laborious, because of the ornate cast parts, but I suppose could be done.
The next issue is the actual finish. I'd be interested in hearing more about oiling with
boiled linseed oil
⇦ on
eBay
or
Amazon [affil links]
or similar and clearcoating. I hate paint, and powder coating more! I have no experience with oiling, waxing, or these other methods though, so appreciate the advice!
Hobbyist - Washington, D.C. USA
Try to clean it with 5% citric acid ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , after that paint it with 20 gm tannic acid ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] ,15 gm phosphoric acid,1 lit water(do it yourself rust converter ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , black finish, only for grease and oxide free surfaces). Then you can clearcoat or wax it. Hope it helps and good luck!
Goran Budija- Cerovski vrh Croatia
2006
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