I have a slate bench in my shower that's held up by three steel 'L' bars, each about ½" thick. Unfortunately, they've started to rust quite badly, causing brown water to drip onto the floor and leaving small rust flakes. I need to find a way to clean the existing rust off and then seal the bars to prevent any future rusting. The bars aren't visible, so the end result doesn't have to look great—just has to work! Any suggestions?
3 Answers
Honestly, it might be easier and faster to just replace the bars with stainless steel ones. They're not too expensive and you can get them made to the same dimensions as your current ones. Or you could consider aluminum or even a type of strong plastic, depending on how much weight they need to support!
You could clean them as best as possible, then apply Ospho. After it dries, finish it off with a clear coat of appliance epoxy or a solid clear coat paint meant for automotive use. This should help seal them effectively!
I recommend trying to remove the bars if you can. Use an orbital sander to clean them up, and then spray on multiple coats of Rustoleum rust converter. Make sure to do a good prep job—clean them thoroughly and wipe them with alcohol first. I’ve got steel lintels in my 1930's house, and I wire-brushed them, followed with Rustoleum and then exterior paint, and it’s lasted nearly 20 years without issues!
Thanks for the tip! I hadn’t thought about switching to aluminum. I'll look into that!