Refinishing a rusty I-beam?

[StriderTB]

I'm going to be finishing the interior of my 2 car detatched garage, and one thing I'd like to do is clean the I-beam that runs across the center of the structure. Is there a recommended way to get the rust off? I was thinking about a wire cup on a drill.

Also, what kind of paint would be best for painting it? I was thinking of something glossy and red.

That pic is from my walkthrough before we bought about 2 years ago.

 

[Colin-Roberts]

wire cup on a grinder or drill would work but would take a while. I would put por 15 on it after cleaning

 

[Nostraquedeo]

I laid down plastic and used wet/dry sand paper with water. It took a while, but I got it smooth. I painted it with five coats of black fire retardant paint. Looks really good!

 

[zer01]

Sandblaster? I would tarp off as much of the area as possible and sand blast it. May be hit it with a wire wheel on a grinder before sandblasting. Wear good protection and keep area ventilated.

 

[StriderTB]

My budget for this is about $14.99 and a lot of elbow grease.

I think the wire cup or one of those Gator stripping discs on a drill will be in my future.

 

[Boyd]

Rust is cool.

 

[djjsr]

Don't bother trying to get the rust off. Get some Rustoleum primer for rusty metal. The stuff works great, it's cheap and you probably only need a quart. Then you can top coat it with anything.

 

[tcianci]

I have 2 I beams in my garage, one was pretty much in red oxide primer so I painted it with latex wall paint and it has stayed fine for years, the other one was for a trolley for a chain hoist and it was pretty rusty...I hit it with a wire wheel and then POR Metal ready. After that a couple of coats of POR 15 black. It's been rust free for over 10 years now and it looks nice and shiny too.

 

[R-132 Fan]

Wire cup on a drill is going to get old fast. You will do better with a 4 1/2 hand held grinder with a good quality wire cup on it. The 4 1/2 grinders from Harbor Freight are ****. For just a little bit more the Kawasaki brand grinders at Tractor Supply are a good buy. Flap wheels work well after you knock the rust down with the wire cup. You get what you pay for. I notice the cheap flap wheels from Harbor Freight don't hold up as well as the ones I pay a little more for from Fastenall or the local welding supply store.
I like the idea of Rustoleum red iron primer followed by a top coat. Make sure to keep the primer stirred up while you paint if you go that route.

 

[nate379]

Wire wheel on grinder and 3-4 cans of rattle spray.

 

[DIC]

Wire brush it and brush on some red oxide primer ....It covers up a lot of ugly...........

 

[blue dog]

put penatrol on the rust, let it dry and then put clear epoxy on it, looks great.
and call it a day. sealed rusted steel is big now days.

 

[Justanoldguy]

The steel will last another 100 years.
Just box the beam in with a layer of ply and paint the ply.
Much tidier than a horrible steel beam.
Do the same to the post as well.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

Blast the flats with a palm sander. Don't even try to remove the rust, just smooth it and blow it down. Brush on Rustoleum, no primer needed, or Sherwin Wiliams Direct to Metal.

A little roller would help a lot, and I would just Paint it if I tried a little patch and it looked OK.

 

[CraigFL]

Blow the loose stuff of with your air compressor and POR-15 it.