Caring for Wrought Iron Railings

Elegant Style and Easy Maintenance

The most common kind of porch, deck, and/or veranda railings in Potomac are wooden ones. Wood is relatively inexpensive to put in, but it requires a frequent amount of maintenance to keep strong and beautiful. Due to the maintenance requirements, homeowners often search for an alternative – and discover wrought iron railings. How do homeowners keep their wrought iron looking beautiful year after year? Learn more about the low maintenance of wrought iron railings:

Rust? Only on the Outer Layer!

While rust can happen quickly — especially if your wrought iron is chipped and exposed to the elements — wrought iron has a built-in defense mechanism: once the outermost layer of wrought iron has rusted, the rust doesn’t continue to eat inward like it does in some other kinds of metal and it doesn’t rot like wood. This means that regardless of how bad it looks, 99% of rusty wrought iron can be cleaned to like-new with a green scrubbing pad and some soapy water. In the worst case scenarios, a little sandpaper can do the job. Once the rust has been cleaned and the metal is dry again, consider adding a paint-on rust proofer that will dry transparent and leave your wrought iron rust-free for years.

Simple Prevention Goes a Long way!

Don’t neglect your wrought iron rails – there’s a simple way to prevent rest. Keep standing water away from the railings, and If you spot a nick in the finish, use a rust-proofing spray (even, in a pinch, something like Armor-All spray) immediately.

Have any questions? Give us a call today – and see how easy it is to switch your railings from high-maintenance wood to low-maintenance wrought iron!