I'm needing to paint a lot of pipe fence and a few pipe pole barns on the ranch and was looking for paint recommendations. It has been probably a good 20 years since they were last done and are starting to look pretty rusty and faded. Didn't know if this would just be a buy whatever is cheapest situation or if there's something that works best especially on already old pipe

I'm thinking a good deep red/maroon color so that in 5 to 10 years I won't be noticing rust and feeling like I should do them again

Any recommendations or tips would be greatly appreciated

Ospho first. Then just use rubber glove to apply. Brush takes too long and spray is too thin and wastes a bunch.
Most importantly, get you kids or relatives to do it and keep yourself hydrated.

That's all I got.

A lot of tips and potential success depend on the level of prep, or re-prep, you're planning on doing, since it's already been painted.
The absolute prep best route: sandblasting. But $$.

How much of the existing paint is still adhering well?

Your top coat will be no better than the preparation of the pipe and the undercoat. If they have been painted before you need to make sure there is not loose paint or scale from rust….using either sandblasting or angle grinder with wire wheel brush.
Then coat as deerdude says with OSPHO or a quality rust proofing primer. Then top coat with an oil base good quality paint.
I have had good results on the old ranch priming with OSPHO on non painted pipe……. Rustolium Proffesional Rusty Metal Primer on rusted pipe with old paint on them…. Then top coat of Rustoleium Proffesional Oil Base coating in your color choice.
Main thing is to clean and degrease the pipe really well before applying your OSPHO or primer coats.

ETA: Don't apply your coatings if the steel is to damn hot. If you can't comfortably hold your bare hand on the pipe for a minute or two it's too hot to apply the coatings. They will dry prematurely and not adhere properly.

I'm no expert but we had a company out to paint a very large piece of equipment outside of one of our buildings at work last spring. All steel.

This is from their quote.


https://imgur.com/a/8F8m6oL

Rustoleum is good and readily available. Gives 7-10 years IME before repainting is really necessary. For some reason the silver has lasted longer for us than other colors.

You need to research direct to metal paint or DTM. Since most of your cost will probably be labor and you probably don't wanna do this again anytime soon, buy the best possible paint product for the job.
https://www.paintersinc.net/blog/repainting-metal-surfaces#:~:text=The%20best%20epoxy%20paint%20and%20primer%20for%20metal%3A&text=Sherwin%2DWilliams%20makes%20an%20outstanding,it's%20called%20the%20Macropoxy%20646.

Amending my entry, maybe find some of these "exchange students" before they are all gone. Much more reliable than kids.

Back in the day I would buy those $13 paint sprayers at HF, hook up the inverter and spray. I would clean them the best I could and got multiple uses out of them, but for $13 I knew it was a throw away. I think they are $30 now, but still pretty cheap.

Three years ago I had a new five stall horse barn built. The stalls and runs were all new construction steel. Square tubing and pipe. Tubing was all cold roll so had an oil covering that I had to degrease first.
I have some auto paint and body spraying equipment experience so I bit the bullet and used epoxy base primer then sprayed PPG Industrial two part polyurethane over it. Expensive but has held up really well.

I use a dishwashing glove covered by a new cotton sock.

Based on my notes:
1-right handed dishwashing glove per hour.
1-left handed dishwashing glove per gallon of paint.
2-3 socks per gallon of paint.

I believe we use some sort of marine paint from Sherwin-Williams. It's not cheap.
I never prep. Maybe it would last longer if I did. We paint our fence brown so rust doesn't stand out.

This is the best method I've found for 1,200 feet. Takes about 3-gallons of paint.

arrow said:

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I use a dishwashing glove covered by a new cotton sock.

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Agreed, but use an old sock if you can. It'll leave less lint.

For the color that you are looking for, I'd use the red primer and just leave it. No topcoat necessary.

Whatever method you go with, just please....pretty please.... don't paint your fence that gawd awful purple color that people put all over their frontage that means, keep out.

Yes, I know it legally means no trespassing etc....but it looks like hell.

I would not prime it and then not top coat it. I tried that once at the old place because I thought it would be ok. It wasn't. PPG rep said primers are not formulated to withstand UV very well.

Not to a purple Baylor grad.

O.G. said:

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Whatever method you go with, just please....pretty please.... don't paint your fence that gawd awful purple color that people put all over their frontage that means, keep out.

Yes, I know it legally means no trespassing etc....but it looks like hell.

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Do you ever wonder who exactly thought that into existence? Perplexing

Deerdude said:

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O.G. said:

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Whatever method you go with, just please....pretty please.... don't paint your fence that gawd awful purple color that people put all over their frontage that means, keep out.

Yes, I know it legally means no trespassing etc....but it looks like hell.

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Do you ever wonder who exactly thought that into existence? Perplexing

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The story that I heard in a real estate class was that it was some state house legislator, don't know how true that is, I have also seen it in other states.

Going way back in my memory...

When I was a student worker while getting my masters in 96, we built some barriers for test wells for some A&M property down by the river. We prepped and used a fish oil based paint. Last time I drove by this fall, they still look pretty good at 70 MPH. That was almost 30 years ago.

Most of the designated true " Rusty Metal" primers do contain fish oils. It takes much longer to dry but works pretty well on prohibiting more rust formation. Lots of ranchers here that have heavily rusted pipes, wire brush first, treat with a coat of OSPHO, prime with red oxide, then coat with two part polyurethane. Expensive but really holds up in the high humidity.

So, ospho anything rusty after scraping off flaking.

Use oil based paint.

Don't apply when too hot so that the paint can dry and set as designed.

This is in west texas where things aren't wet 99% of the time so I won't be using a marine paint. Any leading paint brands or variants that stand above others?

Rustoleum Professional Oil Based or Sherwin Williams Industrial?

TAMU You do what you feel is best. But OSPHO is not a primer for top coat.

Gunny456 said:

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TAMU You do what you feel is best. But OSPHO is not a primer for top coat.

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Guess I'm missing something.

Quote:

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Then coat as deerdude says with OSPHO or a quality rust proofing primer. Then top coat with an oil base good quality paint.

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Are you saying ospho, prime and paint now?

Not all of my pipe is rusted and can tell most all has been painted a couple times some point

Yep. My bad for the confusing post. I should have explained more.
I have only used OSPHO on rusted metal pipes. I clean the scale off with a wire brush by hand or brush on an angle grinder.
If there is old flaking paint I do the same cleaning. No need in putting the OSPHO over the old paint as it accomplishes nothing.
Then I prime using a red oxide rust prohibiting primer
over both the OSPHO'd parts and old painted parts (basically the entire pipe). Then top coat with either a two part polyurethane OR a good Proffesional grade oil base paint.
Alternative method: Instead of using OSPHO at all… prime the entire pipe ( cleaned rusted parts and cleaned painted parts) with a quality RUSTY METAL primer (not just a red oxide rust prohibiting primer) Then topcoat with coating as above of your choice.
Hope this makes better sense.

Deerdude said:

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Ospho first. Then just use rubber glove to apply. Brush takes too long and spray is too thin and wastes a bunch.
Most importantly, get you kids or relatives to do it and keep yourself hydrated.

That's all I got.

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Hick Finn!

i used that marine paint from sherwin williams on my parents fence. Not sure i would again. believe it was over $100 gallon back in 2017 when i painted and it pretty much needed re painting about 5 years later. Was told thats about the longevity i should expect. i'll just buy the cheap stuff if gonna be doing it that often.

I used Rustoleum Professional Oil Base on a lot of non rusted pipe fence on our ranch in the hill country. Primed underneath it with Rustoleum Professional Red Oxide primer.
It held up really well for 10 years or so.

i think the problem with dads fence is the row of oak trees growing along side/over the top of it. causes algae, lichen and all kinds of crud that i didnt know could form on steel. the sections that get full sun look okay.

I learned from a guy in Kentucky that the big horse farms there are painting their wood fences black instead of white because it lasts twice as long.

Basically, dark colors last longer in the sun.

Anyone just let their pipes rust over for a protective sealant?

See Pennybacker Bridge on Lake Austin. Lots of TXDOT structures that rust over for protection. Your metal should be thick enough to form a protective layer and still have structural integrity.

Gunny456 said:

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I'm trying doing that on about 1/2 mile of 3 pipe 2 3/8 fence. Got 4 years on it so far. Pics tomorrow.

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How are them pics?

That's nuts. I just came in from working and had takin pics. Was typing while you sent.