Quick rusty door fix.

May 16, 2009 2:21 PM

My outside metal door is rusting. Is there a quick fix or do I need to sand, prime and repaint? The rust is more of a discoloration than deep rust.
posted by boby to Home & Garden (6 answers total)

Best answer: Rust-o-leum and other products are designed to "encase" the rust. If you're in a hurry you can just paint over. Alternatively you could use a product like naval jelly to help prepare the surface. It allegedly dissolves the rust, but also tends to encase heavy build-up, so the finish may suffer.

If it's your front door, you probably want it to look the best, but if it's a utility door or back door only used by family, you could probably get away with a quick-and-dirty job.
posted by dhartung at 2:30 PM on May 16, 2009

Best answer: Dhartung is right - you can use steel wool or a wire brush to get any loose particles off, and then paint with Rustoleum. Take the door off and set it horizontally on two sawhorses to do this - otherwise you'll end up with visible drips and runs.
posted by Ostara at 3:27 PM on May 16, 2009

Rustoleum makes a primer for rusty metal. It's called, interestingly, Rusty Metal Primer. I painted the rusty parts of some wrought iron patio furniture with it, and then repainted with super-cheap spray paint, and it's looked good for over a decade.
posted by zinfandel at 4:10 PM on May 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

I've seen this black paint-like coating that is more viscuous than rustoleum at auto stores that might work.
posted by mecran01 at 10:01 PM on May 16, 2009

There's a product for boats and cars called POR-15 (paint on rust) which I've heard works really well at neutralizing rust and covering it. Car guys I've talked to are happy with it.
posted by zippy at 11:14 PM on May 16, 2009

Response by poster: The door is to my back porch. It's not visible to the public but I wanted to stop the rust before it got worse. Thanks for the advice.
posted by boby at 7:10 AM on May 17, 2009