Painting cast iron fountains, Restoring rusty fountains

Rusted connecting pipes in a multi- tiered fountain

Q. My four tier fountain has pipe with male and female ends that screw each basin and support level together. The ends have rusted, and some are so deteriorated that the connection can't screw on anymore. Is there a way to fix or put in new male and female ends and still be able to run a water hose to the top of the fountain?

Q. I am a gardening enthusiast who has obtained a metal fountain. Every bit of the fountain is covered in rust. It appears to have never been sealed or painted. I hope to restore it with a painted finish and bring it into full working condition including a water pump to project water. How do I begin to tackle this problem?

Paint recommendation to refinish Antique Cast Iron Water Fountain?

Q. I need to refinish a large/heavy Antique Cast Iron Water Fountain. What would be the best product to use. It will hold water and birds and animals will probably bathe in it and folks may want to stick their feet in it. Please any help would be appreciated.

Artist made me a steel fountain and it's rusting away

Q. I have been on the internet trying to find a solution to a rusting problem and came across your company.
I'm wondering if anyone on this forum can take a second to offer me some advice. From the pictures you can see how severe the problem is. I had an artist make me a wall fountain. I picked out the tile for the area where the water runs down. The artist used steel for the fountain. It was very expensive ($2,300!) and it took a lot of savings on my part to have this piece made.

The problem? It is rusting away to nothing. I've only had it a couple of months! The steel is all pitted and and streaked with orange rust. The white grout turned a rusty orange. The artist said he "sealed" the raw steel. It's my understanding now after researching and researching that the water fountains on the market are made out of Stainless steel so they don't rust. I'm desperate.

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A. Hi Christine. I can think of 3 approaches to slowing the rusting; use more than one if possible:

1. Use purer water, lower in chlorides and sulphates, and therefore less conductive. Drain the fountain, and use only distilled water or rain water in the fountain. If any fertilizer, de-icer or anything else gets in the fountain, drain it and refill.
2. Sacrificial protection. Put a few magnesium anodes [adv: item on eBay & Amazon] in the water, firmly connected to the steel that the fountain is made of. Replace the anodes periodically when they wear away. They can be in a non-visible area as long as it's always wet.
3. Coating the steel with paint to retard the rust. I don't know how this suits your aesthetic taste, but using an appropriate primer [adv: item on eBay & Amazon] , or painting after a phosphoric acid rust converter [adv: item on eBay & Amazon] ) treatment will greatly slow the corrosion.
Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Q. Thanks for your excellent advice. Because the rust has marred the whole frame so extensively, it is no longer an art piece. I'm thinking that it would have to be dismantled and redone with stainless or something else. I could try what you say but is that going to get rid of the rust that is already there. It looks awful. I'm hoping the artist will refund my money.

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A. Hi again. Yes, rust converter [adv: item on eBay & Amazon] and paint will get rid of the rust, but it will then be painted rather than raw metal. I don't know if that suits your wishes. And the repair will have a limited life before touchup is required; I don't know how long.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Q. Ted,

One more question. When the fountain was created, what should the artist have used instead of raw steel. If he used raw steel, what should have been done to prevent it from rusting so badly?

I am trying to find someone who can maybe take the fountain apart and coat the steel somehow or paint it. The rust is occurring inside the fountain and it's not a place I can reach to paint.

Christine

A. Hi Christine. I've told you the things that I think can/should now be done, and there are 2nd, 3rd, and more opinions on this page. I am very sorry that this expensive artwork turned out so unsatisfactorily for you, and wish you the best of luck in resolving it.

-- but apologies, I'm not going to get involved in a contract dispute; and it isn't fair for me to lecture an artist with "should haves" after I have the hindsight of seeing what actually happened:-(

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Cathodic protection A. Ted has posted a number of good suggestions. Here are a few more: (1) Pipelines are routinely protected with an impressed DC current. For details, see ⇨ (IMHO pipelines protect the public from accidents caused by rail or truck transportation and cathodic protection protects the pipelines from corrosion.) (2) Steel corrodes much more slowly at an alkaline pH. Platers who plate steel use this to protect in-process parts by dipping the parts to be plated in an alkaline rinse. Depending on the environment, the otherwise unprotected parts can go quite a long time without rusting. So making the water alkaline will almost completely stop the corrosion. (3) Rust is the reaction product of iron/steel with water. Take the water out and you have no reaction. So perhaps a non-aqueous solvent could take the place of water in your project. Tom Rochester CTO - Jackson, Michigan, USA Plating Systems & Technologies, Inc. A. Oxalic acid [adv: item on eBay & Amazon] is commonly used to remove rust stains. Perhaps that might help. Then, you could remove any remaining rust mechanically, apply a phosphate wash primer, then coat with lacquer or wax. Yes, a lot of work. Sadly, it's always easier to avoid problems than to fix them afterwards. Dave Wichern Consultant - The Bronx, New York

Q. Hi,
I saw your answer to the woman with rust problems in her water fountain, and you mentioned magnesium anodes as a solution. I need to reduce the rust in my water fountain bowl. The water for it is pumped up a 30" long x 2" ID metal stem welded to the metal bowl from a plastic pail. The stem is also welded to a metal frame that fits snuggly into the pail. Where would you suggest an anode rod could be placed in this situation?
Many thanks,

A. Hi John. I don't think I can answer exactly where they should go, but after we agree that they have to be constantly wet, and you don't want them where people will notice them, and they probably can't go inside the 2" dia. stem, you'll probably attach them to the metal frame.

Luck & Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Q. I cut up the magnesium anode [adv: item on eBay & Amazon] and screwed 3 pieces approx. 8" long to the frame. They are attached to the frame at the top and bottom of the rods, so two contact points per rod. Sound acceptable? (this is new to me so thought I'd better check).

A. Hi again. I'm not really understanding that description -- a picture would probably help -- but they have to be immersed in the water; out in the air would accomplish nothing.

Luck & Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Q. Hi,
Here are a couple of pictures of the fountain upside down. The circled part is the base that is under water all the time.

I'm currently sealing the 2" stem and the 22" bowl against rusting with Everbrite [a finishing.com supporting advertiser] but the base and the inside of the stem and will not be coated. The whole thing was as rusty as the base until I cleaned it up.
There is currently the one piece of 14" magnesium anode rod attached (red dot on it) but it's not helping that I can tell. I can add more pieces and attach them firmly to the stem and base. Will that cut down on the rusting? Any ideas would be appreciated.

A. Hi again,
I understand not painting the inside of the 2" dia. stem because it's difficult or impractical, but why would you not paint or at least clearcoat the base? I can't foresee clear water with that rusty base sitting in the water. Unfortunately, fresh water isn't highly conductive, which is why you need active magnesium anodes rather than zinc anodes, but I think anodes are an auxiliary method for small amounts of exposed metal in tough situations (like the inside of pipes) rather than an alternative to corrosion-proofing the base.

Luck & Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Q. I've coated the base. Will the magnesium rod work better if it's fixed securely against the metal stem and the base or is it as good as it's going to get the way it is?

Thanks

A. Hi John. A sacrificial anode needs good metal-to-metal contact so it can conduct electricity. Other than that it's probably positioned okay. But I'd take a knife and scrape at least a little section of it to make sure it's not coated, anodized, or treated in a fashion that is limiting its ability to readily dissolve.

Luck & Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey