Wrought iron handrails are a great way to tie your outdoor space together and give it a personal touch, they also offer an easy way to add another level of safety and security for your guests as they enter your home.
Wrought iron handrails also look especially impressive when paired with wrought iron fences, gates, or other details in the same architectural style. If you’re planning on investing in custom wrought iron handrails for your home, then you’ll want to read this article.
Know What You’re Looking For
The first thing you should do before investing in a wrought iron handrail is to take a good look at your home’s design, if you’re buying new rails for your home, then you’ll want to make sure they fit in with the rest of the design.
For example, you might want to pick wrought iron handrails that match your home’s architectural style or complement certain colors, before you start shopping for handrails, you’ll also want to think about your outdoor space.
Do you want your handrails to be utilitarian or decorative? Will you be using them for security or to tie your outdoor space together? Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll be one step closer to picking the best handrails for your home.
How to Paint Wrought Iron Hand Rails
Wrought iron handrails can look great when painted, although this finish isn’t the easiest to apply before you start painting, you’ll want to remove all of the rail’s finish and paint residue, this will allow you to apply the paint evenly without covering up any imperfections in the rail.
Your next step will be to sand the rail’s surface, this will help to remove any rough, unfinished edges that can cause paint to bleed, once the rail’s surface has been sanded, you can begin applying the paint, when using paint on iron, you’ll want to make sure to prep the rail with primer and then use a high-quality paint that’s designed for iron.
Tip: Don’t Forget About Stiles and Rails
When painting your custom wrought iron design handrails, don’t forget about your stiles and rails, these parts of the railing should always be painted with the rest of the rail, you’ll want to paint the stiles and rails separately, using the same paint you used for the rails.
The stiles should be painted the same color as the rails and the two parts should be painted together, this method of painting ensures that you don’t end up with an uneven finish on these parts of your railing.
Stiles comes in a variety of styles, shapes, and materials, so you’ll want to make sure they look good with the rest of your railing.
How to Powder-Coat Wrought Iron Hand Rails
When you powder-coat your iron handrails, you’re creating a durable, long-lasting finish, ideally, you should powder-coat your handrails after you’ve painted them since powder-coating will only work on top of the paint.
Once the rails are painted, you can powder-coat them, you’ll want to use a high-quality powder-coating system that’s designed for powder-coating iron, the system should have an air pump attached to it, which will allow you to safely and easily powder-coat your handrails.
When powder-coating iron, you’ll also want to make sure to wear a powder-coating suit, eye protection, and a respirator mask.