OK, the cast-iron fireplace has been stripped - now what?

[ChasHyde]

Thats it, really, the title says it all, the little divil is already going rusty - only surface stuff, but unsightly, what do I do to it now - paint, or 'blacking' or what ?

Thanks for reading this and any advice you can give would be grate - pun entirely intended !!

 

[Nemesis]

Blacking! Several brands from which to choose.

 

[Hiriaeth]

I seem to remember that there is a paint on product that The National Trust did start using at one point (Not sure if they still do). This was in order to save man hours in blacking and was thought not to be detrimental aesthetically whilst not effecting the material from a conservation point of view. Check with Helen Lloyd at The National Trust she is I think still in charge of material conservation. Alternatively you could try asking a House or Collections manager at one of the larger Trust Houses they should know or know how to find out . I unfortunately cannot remember the name of the product. Sorry! Not much use, especially if you don't Trust the trust!!

 

[Ian Bond]

I used jenolite on one - that stuff you use to treat rust on cars etc.

I brushed off the worst of the rust first. Haven't got round to applying the grate polish yet (after about 1 year) and it hasn't rusted.

Not sure if this acceptable from a conservation perspective - how did the Victorians deal with rust on their horseless carriages?

 

[Carol]

We wire brushed gently, then used Liberon Iron Paste. Grate and fireback had two coats and a 'polish' in 1999 and gets an annual go-over, if its lucky! No rust so far and this is in our kitchen which gets a fair bit of condensation. Have only bought one tin of the Liberon stuff and am not sure if it is readily available.

 

[Penners]

I strongly recommend grate polish (which is graphite based). It gives the iron a wonderful gunmetally glow which matt black finishes never can.

 

[Pford75]

Agree with Penners on the use of Graphite blacking....we use Zebo (or something similar...can't remember the name)

If you aren't going to black it for a while....a light spray of WD40 will stop the rust

 

[Gervase]

WD40 and black shoe polish are good short-term fixes, but Zebrite gives a lovely finish.