Hob-Nobbing with Rust Paint

There is an iron grate, or hob, in front of my blocked-up fireplace.  It came with the apartment, to distract, I suppose, from the hideousness of the wooden door that obscures the hideousness of the fireplace itself.

In any case, it’s rusty.  It attracts dust and cobwebs and because it’s all rough with rust it’s hard to keep clean.  My dusting cloths just catch and don’t remove any of the crud.  It looks like it was painted at one point, but that it’s almost all worn off by now.   What isn’t worn off is the marking on the inside:

Design Copy Righted

by W. L. Sharp & Sons

1893

So it’s old.  And it’s kind of cool.  And I don’t want the rust to destroy it any further.

I’m going to re-paint it black.  I find that’s a good solution in this house.  If something is rusty and/or gross-looking, I paint it.  The paint seems to protect it from any further damage, and it makes it look a little better.  There’s a cupboard in the kitchen that I painted the top of black, to hide some horrible stains and to mimic our black counter tops.  I also painted the rusty light fixture in the bathroom to save me the eyesore.  I think it’s a good approach.

I got some eco-friendly CLR-type stuff I picked up at Shoppers a while ago.  It’s amazing how well it works.  Unfortunately I don’t seem to have it anymore, nor can I find it again.  Fortunately the hob isn’t THAT rusty, so I think I can just paint over it.  It should at least stop it from rusting more.

***EDIT: I of course found the CLR-type stuff under my sink at the very back the DAY AFTER I painted the hob.***

I did, however, attempt a vinegar/baking soda concoction to blast away some of the rougher stuff first.  I scrubbed it with a stiff brush, like the kind you use on your barbecue.

Rinsed it off with the hose and left it in the sun to dry.  We actually HAD sun for once.

Now to paint!

I’m not too concerned with a glossy finish here so I used semi-gloss rust spray paint (Tremclad, to be more accurate) and I’m not sanding down the hob because I don’t want to rub off something important.  I’m also doing this outside because none of my windows open and I want to live to plague the Pie a long, long time.  I painted in my little quarry because that’s where I do all my painting.  It’s out of the wind, nice and sunny, and if I get some paint on the rocks who is going to care?

Make sure to follow the instructions on your paint can for proper technique, like distance from object and drying time.

I did the first coat, waited the requisite time for it to dry, then did the second.

I brought it inside after a while because I was afraid of rain.

And there it is.  A definite improvement.

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