Protecting bare metal from rust

Stainless.

Given your constraints, that's what I can come up with.

- C

Didn't even think of stainless. However I would paint the stainless where it touches any non-stainless (unless the other metal is aluminium of course) with an anti rust paint.

If you put stainless next to a non-stainless metal, corrosion seems to be more aggressive, possibly a galvanic reaction. Just paint where the stainless touches the other metal, and things will be fine.

If you have made your components already, there is no coating that will last a long time. Having a high polish on the steel plates will allow you to keep them rust free for a while at least.

Regards Charles

Galvanic is the word for it. Stainless protecting itself at the expense of some other metal.

Steve

In my limited experience, this is the stuff:

isn't cheap, but it is excellent. Note that UPS will hit you for an extra $20 since it is considered a hazardous shipment. I just brush on and use locally bought lacquer thinner for cleanup; if you buy thinner from them, you'll pay additional hazardous shipping. If you are spraying it, you might want to consider their thinner though (I know nothing about spraying).

Permalac includes ferrous corrosion inhibitors (don't ask me how they work), which is how they get the scratch test results. This is where they deliberately scribe through the coating and then put the metal in a corrosive environment--still doesn't corrode.

I've used Permalac on an exterior steel blacksmithed sign mounted on a brick wall. It had been up about 12 years last I saw, with no corrosion. That said, this is in Loveland Colorado, which has a much more benign climate for exterior iron than places like Maine, for example. I used gloss, it is definitely glossy, but I wouldn't say plastic looking. They also have matte now.

Steve who has just ordered a gallon of gloss to apply to exterior iron where he lives now, in Maine.

Raffo wrote:

Thanks Steve for your highly relevant response. Other people were talking about stainless steel, when I already said "I have a couple of steel plates". I suppose I should have mentioned, I've done a lot of work to these steel plates to make them into ornamental pieces - Throwing them away and starting with stainless steel is not an option. Besides, I doubt stainless steel would have the old world aesthetic that this regular hold rolled steel has.

Thanks again, i'll try to get ahold of that stuff in Matte.

Raffi.

Steve Smith wrote:

meant hot* rolled steel.

Raffo wrote:

meant hot* rolled steel.

Raffo wrote:

You meant that twice? ;)

Yes Steve's response was -gold- but the others were simply telling you "it pro'bly ain't gonna work unless you get something mighty special" in a back-handed sort of way.

You're not too-good to be back-handed are you, Raffo? ;)

Alvin in AZ