How to repair rust on Colorbond fence panels?

[TonyCG]

Hi.

We moved to our house last year (it is a 10 years old unit) and in the rear backyard it had these timber garden beds.

As the plants on them were pretty much all dead and the garden bed themselves were in bad shape, my wife and I decided to remove them for good.

After doing so, we found that the fence at the back of the garden beds has being damage by all the humidity it had received from the garden bed during all these years.

As we want our back yard looking refresh and vibrant, we are planning in paint these zones again to its original, as new condition.

I have attached some photos from the bottom of the fence panels that have these kind of rusty spots and paint a bit lumpy to the touch. The rest of the panels (middle and top parts) are in good shape and the paint is still in its best condition as the humidity/elements haven't affected them.

I reckon these spots can be sanded and painted again, but I really wanna use the proper sanding tools and paint (if you can repaint only the affected zone, not the whole panel).

Could you please give me your best advice about this job? Thanks! Rusts spots.Paint has peeled of from the edge

[EricL]

Hello @TonyCG 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about repairing your Colorbond fence.

I recommend having a quick look at this discussion - How to paint a Colorbond fence? by @Oshah. You'll find recommendations on what product to use and how to prepare your fence for painting.

It is difficult to tell how far the rust has travelled into the fence bottom rail. I suggest getting some sandpaper and sanding away at the rust spot. If the rust has travelled through the steel, I can only suggest replacing that portion of the fence.

However, if it is surface rust only then it will be possible to repaint the surface of the rail. If you are only painting the bottom rail of the fence, each section that you are not planning on painting must be masked off with drop sheets and masking tape.

In order to get a superior finish, I strongly recommend thinking about using an electric sprayer such as the Ozito 400W Power Paint Spray Gun. It can be used with both oil and water-based products recommended for spray applications, including paint, varnish, stains and wood preservatives. It has an adjustable spray nozzle which provides a choice of 3 spray patterns and a spray regulator to control the paint flow.

I propose using the White Knight Rust Guard painting system. I recommend using the White Knight Rust Guard Grey Quick Dry True Bite Primer Paint as your primer then have your topcoat tinted to your preferred colour.

The general steps will be to sand away the rust, wash and wipe the rail. Once the rail is totally dry, you then apply the primer and topcoat.

Here is a link to our best advice: How do you spray paint a fence?

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[TonyCG]

Thanks for the advice. I will do as proposed and let you know how it goes.

It can take a while for me to do this job, though. I am actually paving an area in that same back yard...

Thanks again!