Metal Fence Paint

[red vette mike]

You folks helped me much when I was building my garage several years ago. I now need to ask a question about paint for a metal fence. I have a steel fence that surrounds a pool in my back yard. The fence needs painting. i want to use the best paint I can on the fence. Several years ago a car club i am in painted a RR caboose that is on show in the City we live in. We used some sort of commercial paint that was used to paint stuff like RR cars or water tanks, etc. Once the color coat was on we applied a clear coat over it. The paint co guy said we would be set for 10-15 years. I need some stuff like that or similar. Thanks for any advice.

 

[38Chevy454]

I used Zero Rust on my std 2 axle open car trailer about 8 years ago. It stays outside all the time, all weather, no care whatsoever, haul junk on the painted surface, fluids spilled on it, etc. It holds up great. Brushed it on, it levels out nice. It has faded a bit (started out nice shiny black) to a flatter black, but as far as corrosion protection, this stuff works great. It is just a heavy duty enamel, but that it great for your fence appication or my trailer. You can clearcoat it and it would probably stay shiny.
http://www.zero-rust.com/

It worked so good on my trailer I used it also on the flatbed of my COE, see avatar pic. Brushed it on there as well. It is steel diamond plate floor and it holds up well to junk being dragged across. At least the flatbed does get washed once in a while, compared to the trailer with nothing. The flatbed also has faded a bit, but still is very black, just duller. Going on 1.5 years now.

 

[Gary S]

My metal fence had powder coating on it when I bought it and installed it. The powder coating was showing rust by the time it was a month or two old. I painted over it with Rustoleum paint and no new rust is showing after 2 years.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Chances are the stuff your club used on the caboose was Tnemec: http://www.tnemec.com/ It's pretty universal for water towers or other large structures like that. It is nasty stuff, plus it's expensive; it may be difficult to find a place willing to sell it to a homeowner.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

More than likely they used a 2 or 3 coat epoxy system. The Tnemec paint listed above is a shop primer used for shipping only in most cases. The most common being Tnemec 99. In case you are wondering, Tnemec 99 has a secret ingredient that helps top coats and intumesent fireproofing stick to it. Just spell Tnemec backwards .....that's right, it's cement. It provides a roughed surface to provide the "tooth" for other coats. They do provide some epoxy coatings but most of the epoxy paints that are spec'd on the jobs we see are either Sherwin-Williams or another major paint company.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Send a PM to Jack Olsen. He just finished making a very impressive iron fence for his front yard. He painted it and it looks great. In fact, do a search under his name and you'll find the thread and he probably names the paint he used. Best, Dan

 

[Stuart in MN]

More than likely they used a 2 or 3 coat epoxy system. The Tnemec paint listed above is a shop primer used for shipping only in most cases.

Tnemec does make a variety of topcoats. I've seen their products on literally hundreds of water/wastewater projects - water towers, process piping, tanks, etc. Sherwin-Williams is also used in some cases, but at least in this part of the country Tnemec is pretty much the standard.

 

[stricht8]

Rust oleum!

 

[Jack Olsen]

I would have used Sumter Satin Shield/Metal Master on my fence, but it's not legal in California. Instead, I used a latex primer and gloss black paint that's CARB approved.

It worked fine.

On some sections of my fence, I used POR-15's Blackcote (which is distinct from the regular POR-15, which doesn't have any UV protection). It is one of those miracle automotive anti-rust paints and it's $46 a quart.

The Jury's still out on whether the expensive POR-15 product is going to be better for the fence than the latex stuff.

In my experience, which is limited, the prep is much more important than anything else.

 

[red vette mike]

The City (Madison, Ms) Helped me remember the name of the paint and the name of their rep. The name of the paint is Carbonline. It is some tough stuff. I am going to try to get some through this rep who doesn't live too far from me. Thanks for all the help.

 

[red vette mike]

Whoops. It is Carboline

http://www.carboline.com/products.aspx?OpenView&Start=1&Count=1000&Expand=1#1