Restoring a cast iron bed.

[Mrs.R]

I have recently aquired an Edwardian cast iron bestead.
It is in good condition with original wooden castors and base.
The only trouble it was painted a rather nasty 1980's pink gloss.
I have taken the time to strip this back and it now needs re finishing.
Does anyone have any ideas on what to use for this.
It is quite a basic bed with curved head and foot boards with the head part having several upright struts joing onto the main curved bit, but with the footboard only having a curved top and a thin rail on the bottom.
I would like to paint this black and dont really want too shiny a finish as it is for my 4 year olds room hence shiny paint and sticky finger prints.
So question being - do i need to undercoat or prime this, and what paint could i use to finish it in, do i use a spray or a paint.
Any ideas would be appretiated, thanks.

 

[biffvernon]

First read the Kid Proof Paint thread then use a coat of Aglaia Corrosion Protection Paint followed by Aglaia Interior Lacquer, satin-matt.

Sleep well.

 

[NT]

Car paints are the most durable, but will need to be used outdoors.

Spraying avoids a brushmarked finish. If youve not done it before the 2 basic rules are:
do the least visible sides first and the most seen ones last
use several thin coats, as modern car sprays tend to be very thin

Brushed paint will give a brush streaked surface.

Gloss is easier to clean than matt, and is the logicl choice for these apps.

What the original finsh was I dont know, may be worth finding out. Perhaps japan black?


NT

 

[Mrs.R]

Yes underneath the pink the bed had a black finish.
I have wire wooled it, so its a nice smooth base to work on, there is no rust or damage.
Do you think i would need to prime it first?
And yes i would think a spray is easier, it would be so fiddly on those intricate parts to use a brush.
thanks.

 

[Tina Ruffle]

I've just had a similar issue recently - good advice or not - i would reccommend hammerite.

I got a couple of cast iron beds at the bargain price of 10 a few weeks back. They'd been sitting in a barn for a good few years and you could tell.

I cleaned them up with soapy water - dried them - brushed off flaky paint with a wire brush... no other prep needed. You don't need primer with hammerite. All uneveness disappeared under the paint.

If you don't want shiny paint - like myself - then hammerite have a "hammered effect" paint - it dries slightly dimpled and more dull. Literally like its been hammered i suppose.

 

[Moo]

Hammerite also do a satin finish, which is pretty child-proof and not too shiny.

 

[Mrs.R]

Guess i shall be hitting the DIY stores this weekend, cant wait to get it done.
I was so pleased with my bargain, i won it for the pricley sum of 0.1p off ebay, and my little boy has been watching me scraping away wondering when he will have his big boys bed.
Now its just to choose between hammered and satin.......
thanks once again.

 

[Penners]

Mrs R.
Hammerite paints are good for the purpose you want, but I reckon the hammered finish would look awful on a traditional bedstead. I should go for the smooth finish one.

 

[NT]

Hammerite is thick gloop that fills in the details, and its riddled with pinholes so not a very good protector. It also gives a fairly poor finish. Its not what I'd recommend.

NT

 

[Penners]

The hammered finish can develop pinholes if you haven't prepared the surface properly, but I have found the smooth very good and longlasting.

 

[Moo]

I've used the Hammerite satin on three beds (two modern, one old) and it's been fine. Horses for courses, and all that - none of the beds is of any particular value or interest.

 

[worms]

This may be a daft suggestion but the smoothest paint finish I have achieved in a long time was with a wee can of stove paint. I can't remember the name now, but I think it was xylene based, it was like water to paint on but dried a very smooth matt black. It might give the finish that you are looking for.

 

[NT]

Isnt that the stuff that requires heating to harden it? Very weak until heat treated.

NT

 

[Moo]

NT's remark about heat reminds me of another idea. Not as cheap as a can of Hammerite, but a guaranteed super result.
Take the frame to a firm that does powder-coating, choose your colour+finish and leave the rest to them. They'll sandblast off all the old paint and then give the metal a coat of baked-on paint that is well nigh indestructable.

 

[worms]

NT,

You are right it does harden further at high temperature, but I moved the stove around a fair bit between painting it in the garage and finally installing it back in the house, without the paint coming off.

I dug out the tin from the back of the garage and it was Hotspot Stove Paint. Good finish which has lasted five years now and still looks good.

http://www.castironfires.com/detail.asp?id=913

 

[Penners]

Take the frame to a firm that does powder-coating, choose your colour+finish and leave the rest to them. They'll sandblast off all the old paint and then give the metal a coat of baked-on paint that is well nigh indestructable.

I agree. Excellent idea.