Cast iron fireplace renovation

[audi321]

Hi all. I have had a cast iron fireplace stripped (dipped in acid) a year or so ago and now am ready to fit it. But it has gone kind of rusty in the year that it's been stood. I will wire wool it and I'm sure it will come back good, but what can I spray on it to make it look good? It's decorative only, so nothing heat proof is needed.

Thanks in advance!

[dickymint]

Hair spray.

[freecar]

There is a product for this in tubes (like toothpaste!) that you brush on and buff off, it'll protect the cast iron and look authentic.

Spray it with paint and it'll look wrong IMO.

Stove blacking! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manor-Stove-Grate-Polish-B...

[dickymint]

Trust me I've done it - hair spray. Simple, cheap and it works. Tried WD40 and it still rusted.

[audi321]

I really need a spray paint as I've had to get a new grill and hood for the fire and it's different colour to the original. Someone once said engine spray paint but I don't know what that would look like.

[freecar]

audi321 said:

I really need a spray paint as I've had to get a new grill and hood for the fire and it's different colour to the original. Someone once said engine spray paint but I don't know what that would look like.

Stove blacking will colour new stuff to the colour of old stuff.

Engine spray paint will look st.

If you want the look and patina of a cast iron fireplace, stove blacking is your man.

If you want a sterile, IKEA, plastic looking fire surround then paint is your friend!

[Simpo Two]

Sad to think that 100 years ago the average uneducated housewife knew the answer.



Now, what with the digital interweb, we leave iron for a year and wonder why it goes rusty.

[Theoldfm]

We have got old cast iron fireplaces in all of our rooms.

Most have been treated with some form of paste in a tube which gives a really authentic appearance (it's called grate polish)



The one in my son's bedroom I simply sprayed with satin black paint from a rattle can.

To be honest, the painted one looks fine - probably a bit too perfect for the purests out there but it is pretty hard wearing and very easy to get a good finish.

Hope this helps