There are many great ways to do wrought iron fence painting outdoors but many include sprays and so what do you do if you have indoor wrought iron railings?
A house we purchased as an investment was built in the 70s and metal decorative railings became quite popular. It was a quick and easy way to add a railing. But the problem is, that after many years of use and kids bounding up and down the stairs, the finish on them gets chipped or worn off and now they look horrible.
Most of these railings were spray painted at the factory and looked great when they were first installed. They were the same ones that were installed as protection on concrete porches and in some cases wrought iron fences were used to separate property.
This style of railing will last in many cases longer than a wooden one, but it still needs some care.
Painting Wrought Iron Indoors
If you are trying to update the look of your stairwell, or maybe this is the railing you have between different levels such as balcony style railings, then you have probably figured out by now that to replace these with more modern ones will cost you plenty.
After much research I found the same thing. In the house we had there were wrought iron ornate looking railings up the stairs and along the hall as it was open concept. It would cost me over 3000 dollars to get it replaced with something else. So, I decided to simply bring it back to life.
(before picture of upstains part of railing in ugly chipped brown colour )
It was an ugly brown with chips in it when I bought the place, so I decided to go with a jet black to make it stand out since I couldn’t really hide it.
The best way to get started is to first take a wet cloth and really wipe each rail down. Yes this can get tedious if you have many so maybe find some help. Kids can help with this part. Once they are clean inspect for rust, but chances are because this is an indoor railing it probably won’t have rust. If it does you need to sand the rust off with medium grit sandpaper.
Now take painters tape and protect any wood or stairs at the base of the railing. This is tedious is but worth it in the end for a great look.
Protect the area you will be working with a drop cloth. Not a fan of plastic sheets because they get slippery, so find a way to protect the floor from drips.
You need to use paint designed for metal, although there are many on the market they tend to be sprays, and you don’t want to use sprays in the house. So, you need a paint that you can paint on with a brush.
Rust-Oleum Black Metal Paint
Rust-Oleum has a good brand of metal paint that I like. You can get this in other colours but I like the black. You will also need some small foam brushes, as I find they are better for leaving a smooth finish compared to regular bristle brushes.
(after picture showing stairwell heading upstairs with freshly painted railing and new runner carpet)
So taking your time dip a small one inch foam brush into the paint and start painting your wrought iron railing. If it has twists and turns like mine did you need to get at all the different angles. Once again this would be great if you could have some help depending on how many metal rails you have. Watch for drips. Although this specialty paint is thicker, you still need to watch for runs.
Do each railing on all sides before moving on to the next one.
Wrought Iron Fence Painting Indoors!
This is a bit quicker because you don’t have the worry of bugs and outdoor weather but since you shouldn’t use sprays in the house (way to much area to try and protect from overspray) you need to take your time and you should do 2 coats of the metal paint.
Once you are done you will be amazed at how much better it looks. Take off the painters tape and there you go! A fresh looking new wrought iron railing. It will look brand new. You can get many different finishes, such as hammered looking metal. It all depends on your decor.
