Make Your Planters New Again

My Mom had these lion head planters in her side yard. They look like they’ve been repainted once, but weather and time have taken their toll and the rust has won out.

The problem with rust is, unless you get every molecule off it off of the metal, it will resurface fairly quickly and any paint job you attempt to do will be negated within a year. That’s why metal makeovers are few and far between – it’s a lot of work to do it right.

If these weren’t free and in a set of three, I probably wouldn’t have attempted it for all the effort it requires… but having a cute set was pretty appealing and, like most of my projects, I wanted to see if I could do it.

I started by scrubbing off as much rust as I could with a metal bristle brush, then I followed up by sanding with 60 grit sandpaper. This did a good job of getting off the large flakes of paint and the loosened rust, but it wasn’t enough to get it all.

That’s when I thought I’d try this new product I found:

ABOUT THE MUST FOR RUST – RUST REMOVER GEL

New to the Krud Kutter^® family, The Must for Rust Remover GEL is the perfect solution for horizontal surfaces! The gel formula penetrates into every void of a metal surface and dissolves rust/oxidation through chemical action. A protective barrier will resist future rusting of the metal. Once completely dry, the surface is ready for the next step, whether it is painting, welding, plating, lubricating, etc. or simply leave the surface bare.

Will resist future rust formation for up to 12 months

Water-Based

Biodegradable

Rust inhibitive – great for new metal

Rust Preventive

Works quickly & easily

The directions say to wet your metal pieces down to break the surface tension and then spray with the Krud Kutter Must for Rust gel.

I left it to soak into the planters for about 20-30 minutes and then came back to wash off.

Pretty impressive!

I sprayed them down one more time to get those last few pesky spots and all the rust was dissolved!

That’s not to say it won’t come back with time, the tech sheets say that it will only prevent rust from returning for about 12 months – so I followed it up with two coats of Zinsser Bullseye 1-2-3 primer.

If you don’t follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you may not have seen my new purchase:

It’s the HomeRight Spray Shelter (link below) – large enough to fit a desk or dresser inside and collapsible for easy storage. It even has a front screen to keep the bugs from landing in your freshly sprayed paint. I have to say, this was a great purchase and one you’ll see a LOT of in the coming posts (I’ve been busy!)

After the primer coats dried on my metal planters I gave them two coats of Rustoleum’s painter’s touch paint in a gloss black. The primer and the paint both have rust inhibitors in them and coupled with the Krud Kutter Must for Rust, I’m hoping that I’ve kept future rust at bay for a few years. Fingers crossed.