Help with Abrasiver Selection for Rotex 150 - sanding rust and old metal

[MrToolJunkie]

I need to refinish a steel fence -- it is rusting in places and I need recommendations on paper and grits to clean the rust off and sand any of the older paint that is peeling before priming and painting.  I am also going to need to use my DTS400 for the smaller sections where the Rotex cannot reach, but I am limited to Brilliant here. 

Thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated -- I am thinking that I need Saphir p50 to start?  Should I go more aggressive?  I have Vlies in all the grits now, but I do not think it will be aggressive enough for this application.

Thanks!

Scot

 

[PeterK]

What type of fence is it? Wrought iron? Does it have lots of smallish vertical pieces as the fence? Going to paint it?
Mine was made from 3/8" square tubing for the fence sections with cross rails. A real pain to clean and then paint. Ended up using sanding sponges as the fastest way to clean the vertical bars. Also used smallish drywall/putty knife to scape off the major crud first. Tried a power sander but was quite a bit slower.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Should I go more aggressive?

Yes you should go more aggressive. In the sense of: forget sanding and get yourself an angle grinder with a wire brush. This is the best way to remove all rust from metal. I wouldn't dream of using only a sander for that. First use the grinder on all spots with rust until all the rust is gone completely. If you don't remove everything it will come back after a while. Then after all rust is gone you can clean up with a sander. I used Crystal in the grits 60 to 120.

Here some pics of how I did a job on a steel fence last year.

Before:

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Then use the grinder on it with steel brushes until all rust is gone

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Then make everything even with a sander using Crystal paper grit 60 and 120. I used Brilliant at first, but it got torn real easy on the metal so I switched to Crystal which is a bit sturdier. I used the Deltex last year and it did a good job. The DTS400 should do fine to, though probably not as fast.

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And the end result.

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[MrToolJunkie]

Peterk - yes, the fence is going to be primed and painted.  It is steel tubing -- about 1 inch square tubing.  Fortunately most is in good shape so I do not need to strip the paint off everywhere -- more isolated spots that have some rust where the paint as flecked off. 

Alex - great pictures and your door came out great!  Thanks for posting the details.  I have a Fein MM and maybe that will work in some small areas like your Deltex.  I like your idea of a grinder and wire bruch for the heavy rust removal...maybe another excuse for a new tool...or a rental -- just not a lot of use for a grinder in my shop. 

 

[AlexThePalex]

I like your idea of a grinder and wire bruch for the heavy rust removal...maybe another excuse for a new tool...or a rental -- just not a lot of use for a grinder in my shop.  

I couldn't live without a grinder. There are so many uses and different attachments for it. It's also great for shaping wood, scribing and sanding. I think I use it 70% of the time on wood, 25% on metal and 5% on stone. And grinders are pretty cheap to buy compared to most other tools. You should be able to get a decent one between 100 and 150 dollars.

As for the MM, I never used one, but if you have the DTS it will do just as good I think, if not better. The DTS will reach all places just as good with it's point. And as a dedicated sander I think it will do better than an MM. 

 

[Neill]

Sccot,

I have used one of those wire brush attachments that fit onto a drill chuck to clean up some wrought iron railings.  Worked really well and the drill might be a bit more maneuverable.  Also I started out with a pretty coarse brush, then medium and finished with fine.  Gave me the chance to kind of feather it in before painting.

Neill