Best paint for fighting rust?

[JSpill]

I have several metal patio chairs to paint. They live 500 feet from the ocean. Is there a brand of paint you would recommend that might inhibit rust to some degree?

[CLETUS]

I've had really good luck with POR-15. I'm not sure it's something you'd want for a patio chair. You're limited on colors.


https://www.por15.com/POR-15supregsup-Ru...g_p_8.html

[daddo]

Getting the rust off down to the bare metal has worked best for me. Leaving any rust underneath seems to defy any coating sooner or later.
After being removed of rust, sanding, then washing with soap and water then drying it well with acetone works best for surface prep.
A good primer coat or two is essential, then top coat before it all has a chance to completely cure- this helps each coat adhere to each other the best. On a warm dry day, I usually give it 10 minutes between coats. Colder or damp days, maybe 20-30 minutes.

I have used the new rustoleum advanced primer (brown) with very good results. Then I top coat (2 or 3 thin coats) with rustoleum, then finally coat (2 coats) with a clear coating.  I let the paint cure for a week before taking it outside- depends on the temp and humidity.
I have an old fire hydrant and a 1921 bell I sand blasted and used this method and they've been outside for 6-7 years and they still look pretty good.

While painting, if you notice any round or splotched voids of paint, the paint is not adhering properly and you'll get rusting there- correct your prepping methods.

In your conditions, there's no guarantee.

You can use the stuff they use on boats, but that stuff is a mess, smelly and in my opinion not healthy.

Another method is using epoxy paints. They have good epoxy spray paints, but prepping and priming is the real key to stopping/slowing rust.

[pprobus]

I have several metal patio chairs to paint. They live 500 feet from the ocean. Is there a brand of paint you would recommend that might inhibit rust to some degree?

I would avoid epoxy paint, I have not found an epoxy paint that is UV stabilized (i.e. the UV from sunlight will break it down in short order). 

The best paint and the best paint for the buck maybe two different things.  Probably the best paint would be automotive urethane paint, but very expensive.  Probably about the best bang for the buck that I have found, so far, is the tractor paint that Tractor Supply sells, a brand called Majic paint.  I have been using it to repair my wheelbarrow that I am practicing my rust/sheetmetal repair skills on.  It has been a slow project since I am working on it as I get time, but I painted all of the small accessory pieces (legs, axle supports, etc.)  a couple of years ago and have left them outside in the weather for the past couple of years and so far no rust has returned to them.  As others said, I did do a complete rust removal on them, since they were small, I was able to soak them in Evaporust to remove/convert all the rust.  For primer, I did not use the Majic primer, I used Rustoleum's Self Etching primer, but the paint I used Majic with the hardener and their own reducer.  I sprayed it using an inexpensive HVLP sprayer, to hone my spraying skills, but you can apply it with a brush or an airless sprayer (I actually had to use a brush to get it in some areas of the axle supports that I could not get at with the sprayer).

After years of putting up with rattle cans, I have pretty much given up on them except for primer use or with paints that you just can't easily find in a pint or quart can (For ex. I need to re-do the paint on my DeWalt MBF RAS that uses a textured paint, Rustoleum makes a close enough match that is only available in spray cans).  I was able to get acceptable finishes with the spray cans, the issue is that the paints themselves don't have any durability and seems to take forever to harden up.  Getting the paint in "bulk" and using a hardener has been a game changer, as well as the marked improvement in finish in spraying with a decent spray gun (I can even get better results from the HF $10 purple spray gun than rattle cans, but now I use a Devilbiss clone that sprays very well). 

But if you want the absolute best rust protection that you can apply as an average person (THE best would obviously be powder coating, but not exactly something you can do at home with things as large as outdoor furniture), then you need to fully strip the paint that's left on the furniture.  Completely remove the existing rust using something like Evaporust.  Then use an automotive epoxy primer on the bare metal and a two-part, single stage urethane paint over that (two-parts being paint and hardener), the single stage means you don't need a clear coat for the UV protection, I think CC would be overkill, but its not like you can't use a CC over a single stage, I have read that the car resto. guys get great results doing that but is a bit overkill for what you are looking at doing.

[daddo]

I would avoid epoxy paint, I have not found an epoxy paint that is UV stabilized (i.e. the UV from sunlight will break it down in short order). 

The best paint and the best paint for the buck maybe two different things.  Probably the best paint would be automotive urethane paint, but very expensive.  Probably about the best bang for the buck that I have found, so far, is the tractor paint that Tractor Supply sells, a brand called Majic paint.  I have been using it to repair my wheelbarrow that I am practicing my rust/sheetmetal repair skills on.  It has been a slow project since I am working on it as I get time, but I painted all of the small accessory pieces (legs, axle supports, etc.)  a couple of years ago and have left them outside in the weather for the past couple of years and so far no rust has returned to them.  As others said, I did do a complete rust removal on them, since they were small, I was able to soak them in Evaporust to remove/convert all the rust.  For primer, I did not use the Majic primer, I used Rustoleum's Self Etching primer, but the paint I used Majic with the hardener and their own reducer.  I sprayed it using an inexpensive HVLP sprayer, to hone my spraying skills, but you can apply it with a brush or an airless sprayer (I actually had to use a brush to get it in some areas of the axle supports that I could not get at with the sprayer).

After years of putting up with rattle cans, I have pretty much given up on them except for primer use or with paints that you just can't easily find in a pint or quart can (For ex. I need to re-do the paint on my DeWalt MBF RAS that uses a textured paint, Rustoleum makes a close enough match that is only available in spray cans).  I was able to get acceptable finishes with the spray cans, the issue is that the paints themselves don't have any durability and seems to take forever to harden up.  Getting the paint in "bulk" and using a hardener has been a game changer, as well as the marked improvement in finish in spraying with a decent spray gun (I can even get better results from the HF $10 purple spray gun than rattle cans, but now I use a Devilbiss clone that sprays very well). 

But if you want the absolute best rust protection that you can apply as an average person (THE best would obviously be powder coating, but not exactly something you can do at home with things as large as outdoor furniture), then you need to fully strip the paint that's left on the furniture.  Completely remove the existing rust using something like Evaporust.  Then use an automotive epoxy primer on the bare metal and a two-part, single stage  urethane paint over that (two-parts being paint and hardener), the single stage means you don't need a clear coat for the UV protection, I think CC would be overkill, but its not like you can't use a CC over a single stage, I have read that the car resto. guys get great results doing that but is a bit overkill for what you are looking at doing.

 Although I haven't used it yet, I agree, that Majic paint from TS has a lot of great reviews. I agree also with the automotive paints. I've painted with them and they are the best lasting finish you can get. Very expensive but worth the efforts.

[pprobus]

 Although I haven't used it yet, I agree, that Majic paint from TS has a lot of great reviews. I agree also with the automotive paints. I've painted with them and they are the best lasting finish you can get. Very expensive but worth the efforts.

I have not read the reviews lately.  The early reviews (on the tractor forums) when TSC changed from Valspar to Majic (basically I think it occurred because Lowes bought the Valspar name and made it a Lowes exclusive, I highly suspect but have nothing to support my suspicions that Majic may be made by the same company that makes Valspar only now under TSC's home brand name) were not very good.  I bought it originally to use something relatively cheap and emulate automotive type paint to get some experience using spraying equipment.  My early attempts on my first car were not so good, but that was with lacquer paint and the old fashioned LVHP sprayer of the day (late '80's).  Granted the pieces I have been exposing to weather are not laying on the ground, they are laying on a window ledge and my deck, get rained on, snowed on, full sunshine, etc. I don't run out there and dry them off after each storm
.  No signs of rust, yet.

Edit to ad: As I am sure the OP knows that nothing will stop rust, a good paint will slow it down considerably. It's all a matter of how frequently you want to re-paint and the ease of touching up.

[Cooler]

The best paint is not paint at all, it is powder coating.  

I like Rustoleum.  But the key is getting the piece perfectly clean or all the old rust.

If you Google "acid dip" + your zip code you will find services that will strip off all the old paint and rust.  But you have to paint it within a day or so or it will start to rust again.  The acid will strip off all the residual oils that protect the steel from rusting.  It is best to spray the primer as soon as you get it home.  

Acid dip will also save you a ton of work.  Ask if they fully rinsed off all the acid or if you need to wash it again prior to painting.

[JSpill]

Thank you for the excellent information. I'll have to weigh these ideas before moving forward. This will also give me more time to avoid doing anything.

[daddo]

You know- You could just make chairs out of wood and sell the ones you have to someone inland. Landlubbers.