# Garden gates



## Bazsm

My gates need painting or coating but I'm unsure if they're galvanised or possibly wrought iron (which seems unlikely) so hoping someone can help.

They're large gates (approx 5ft x 5ft each) and we have smaller railings along the wall too. They were fitted before we moved in 20 years ago and I've only painted them once in that time with hammerite but now they're starting to chip quite badly and look very second hand.

The good thing is there's no sign of rust which is why I'm asking for some help to identify the finish or metal. We live by the sea amd I've read that even galvanised steel will start to rust in such hostile conditions over time so the fact there's absolutely no sign of rust makes me think they might be wrought iron as they're quite weighty too.

This photo shows the bare metal so any informed thoughts would be very welcome:


----------



## dholdi

That looks like galvanised to me.


----------



## Vossman

dholdi said:


> That looks like galvanised to me.


And me, best way to do these is a wire brush to remove the loose stuff then paint with a specialist paint designed to grip galv, I'm sure Screwfix do something like that.


----------



## Demented

As shown in the image; would wrought Iron gates have those welds ?

Aren’t wrought iron gates or railings fused together by heat expansion and shrinkage rather than welds ?


----------



## c87reed

They certainly look to be galv'd. Another clue would be the presence of any drain holes in the box section at either end.


----------



## Bazsm

Thanks for all your replies, and there are indeed drain holes at the end of the box section so what are the holes for? 
If galvanising isn’t a permanent coating then I’m really impressed with how it’s stood up to 20 years by the sea.
I was thinking about using BH electrox followed by hammerite or similar but guess the electrox isn’t needed given how clean the bare metal looks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## GeeWhizRS

If it looks like that after 20 years (and looking at the unpainted areas) it's almost certainly galv, and as the paint is still adhered, it's likely that it was properly prepped before painting. With that in mind I would only be looking at re-prepping the failed areas and then another top coat.


----------



## ollienoclue

Definitely galvanised. Remove existing paint as best you can and recoat. I might be wrong in thinking that hammerite do a special primer for metals with coatings. I've found hammerite doesn't like being put on very smooth surfaces and often can't match the expansion/contraction of the metal it is on in the sun and so flakes off very readily.


----------



## GeeWhizRS

Ollie, Hammerite’s garage door paint is nothing short of brilliant and is for smooth surfaces. Horses for courses. 👌


----------



## dholdi

Bazsm said:


> Thanks for all your replies, and there are indeed drain holes at the end of the box section so what are the holes for?


They are vent and drain holes for any gases that build up during the process and to allow the solutions to coat the inside and drain out during dipping.


----------



## Caledoniandream

Hammerite does a special primer for galvanised metal.
It is definitely galvanised, I would use paint stripper and clothes to wipe the old paint of (don’t scrape, you scratch through it) primer and top coat with hammerite.

The drain holes are for the galvanising process, as they have been “hot” galvanised.
Processes cleans the metal in acid, than dips the metal in molten zinc, due to the heat the pipes could explode if there is no drain hole.
Also to stop the pipes filling with zinc, as your gate would weigh a ton and would be worth 20k 
It is one of the best galvanising processes and last a very long time (look at Ifor Williams trailers they are hot galvanised) 
Costly but nothing really beats it.


----------



## Bazsm

I’ve done some research on painting galvanised and Rawlins paints seem to have some good info so on the basis Hammerite has had some poor comments of late I think I might go with Rust-Oleum 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## ollienoclue

Rustoleum make some good stuff I'm told.


----------



## Bazsm

Finally found time to start painting my gates. Rawlins recommended Rust-Oleum CombiColor Original and Rust-Oleum 3302 CombiPrimer Adhesion in a 400ml aerosol to prime the bare metal areas. Very impressed with Rawlins and their customer support via their blog. I hate painting but have to say the Rust-Oleum paint goes on very nicely so think it's a good choice.

Pretty pleased with the finish but now have to do the other half of the gates as well as the strips on top of the wall


----------



## Gas head

Maybe showing my age but when I was a lad calcium plumbate was the primer for galv surfaces.


----------



## Bazsm

Gas head said:


> when I was a lad calcium plumbate was the primer for galv surfaces.


No good telling me now 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------

