Finishing wrought iron hardware

[Fuzzie]

I used wrought iron drawer pulls on a cabinet I made a couple of years ago. When I originally received the pulls they were coated in a dirty oily substance that basically just came off on a polishing rag. I now notice that some of the pulls have started to rust.

rust.jpg

I guess I'm going to have to wire wheel these and apply some sort of finish. What finish should I use?

[bsrlee]

There are a couple of fairly permanent finishes you can DIY. Since you are going to wire brush them, I assume they are easy to remove from the drawers.

The basic technique I have used is the same for either finish. Basically heat them in a flame (I used a small portable forge, but a heap of BBQ beads will suffice) until they are blackened and hot - you do NOT want them red hot unless you like the inside of a Burns Unit. Use a pair of cheap and large pliers to hold the drawer pulls while you apply the 'finish' (keeping your hands away from the hot and possibly burn-y bits) - this will make a bit of a mess of the pliers.

Finish 1: Linseed oil. Soak a rag with linseed oil until it is dripping. You can tell the piece is at the right temperature because the oil will smoke but not catch alight when dripped on. Swab the oil on until it stops smoking, then put aside to cool. (keep kids, pets and the plain curious away). The oil quickly polymerises in the iron oxide and makes a sort of paint - I have a set of candle sticks I made with this finish back in the early 1980's and the finish is still good, no red rust and barely semi-gloss.

Finish 2: Parafin wax, aka old candle stubs. Much the same as above, check to make sure it doesn't burst into flames (too hot) then rub the hot iron with the wax, which will melt into the oxide coating and keep everything stuck in place. I don't like it as much as the linseed oil finish, it looks more plastic-y.

[Robson Valley]

I have a wrought iron BBQ tool called a "T-bone Turner". Wicked little pig-tail hook on one end. The finish is as brslee describes, mine was done with vegetable oil on the forge by the blacksmith.
Hot, soapy water washes over the years and good as new.

[BobL]

If you don't fancy dunking hot things into oil or using the traditional oil/wax based finishes described by the other posters then another finish for stuff that has to be handled recommended to me by a traditional Blacksmith is a clear polyurethane. If you want it to look natural then use matt

[Fuzzie]

Thanks for the ideas. I've seen the poly finish on some fittings, but I think I'll give the trad oil finish a try. I've got plenty of linseed oil left over from the bench build and I've got a small Chimenea which might be just the ticket for heating things to the required temp by suspending them over the top.

[BobL]

The other hot oil method is to just heat to just under dull red and dunk in mineral oil. Full face shield, leather apron, overalls and leather gloves and make yourself a sort of fishing rod from a metal rod or tube, and a wire hook. To see that it was just under dull red I do it at night or in dim lighting and heat the object to a very dull red the fish it out of the fire with fishing line hold it in the air till the red just disappears and then dunk it in the oil. When you dunk it in the oil (I used cheap motor oil) there may be some spitting, a lot of smoke and the surface of the oil may temporarily catch fire but that is about the extent of the drama. If a flame out worries you have a piece of sheet metal on hand to smother the flames. If you want less spitting then pre-heat the oil in an old food can on a electric hot plate to about 150-200ºC.

My attempts at this method have always produced a variably blotchy or patchy finish which is why I moved to metal bluing although I still use it occasionally when appearance is not a problem.

[Robson Valley]

Common solidified vegetable oil cooking product here is "Crisco."
That very same blacksmith used that on the froe that he pounded out for me.
I use the froe for splitting log pieces for carving wood bolts and slabs. Years of use and abuse = never a sign of tarnish or rust. Amazing stuff.

[Fuzzie]

...Full face shield, leather apron, overalls and leather gloves and make yourself a sort of fishing rod from a metal rod or tube, and a wire hook...

Hmm. Might have to put off this little experiment until I acquire some suitable safety gear. At least I think I should still be able to use the chimenea, placing the pieces in the coals rather than dangling in the chimney section.

[BobL]

Hmm. Might have to put off this little experiment until I acquire some suitable safety gear. At least I think I should still be able to use the chimenea, placing the pieces in the coals rather than dangling in the chimney section.

Apart from eye protection you won't need any of the PPE I refer to if you use brslee's methods.

[ozdude]

A coat of boiled linseed oil applied with a rag and allowed to dry naturally does wonders and lasts a long time. What you can heat insofar as iron and steel is rather limited. The above is a very old method to keep implements and tools from rusting.