Painting a rusty basketball pole

[JanetRose]

Would you consider it a hard job to remove the rust?

 

[rwdavis2]

Probably and it's almost impossible to get it all. To remove it you will have to sand or scrape down to bare, shiny metal. Then use a primer and then paint. Rustoleum, even though it says you can paint it over rust, is only a short term solution. You will have to repaint in a couple of years when the rust comes back.

 

[dakcp2001]

Yep, that is going to be a royal pain.

 

[Hannathy]

Hard and tedious.

Depends also on the finished result you want. Good enough to just paint over and not look great but it is out in the back and who cares or so it looks great and smooth.

It is a PIA job but a bigger and longer lasting one for the second result.

 

[kirstenb1]

I wouldn't consider it hard, you're just sanding, but it'd be a pain in the butt.

 

[CPT Tripss]

I wouldn't consider it hard, you're just sanding, but it'd be a pain in the butt.

Pain in the butt? How do you sand a basketball pole?

 

[mrodgers]

Pain in the butt? How do you sand a basketball pole?

With a drill or angle grinder and a wire brush. Easy job.

 

[NotUrsula]

You don't really have to get ALL of the rust off; you just need to get the loose rust off so that the surface will be smooth and not cause the paint to flake.

Go and buy a wire brush attachment for a drill and use that; be sure to wear safety glasses and long sleeves, because there will be tiny bits of hot metal flying around. Once it is smoothed down, give it a treatment with a rust retardant primer, then two coats of rust retardant paint. You could even finish it off with something like Rustoleum LeakSeal, which is actually a rubber coating.

Be sure to treat the inside of the pole as well, if it was open or has holes drilled in it; even if it is still rusty inside this will help prevent it rusting outward from under the paint. Also, make sure that if it was open that you cap it; a pvc endcap and some caulk should do it.

 

[petchie]

I have used this on many rusty things that needed painting.

http://ospho.com/

It has been around a LONG time. I remember my grandpa using it on farm equipment.

I knock off the loose rust with a wire brush. Put a coat of Ospho on. let it sit 24 hours. Put another coat of Ospho on. Let it sit 24 hours. Wash it down with soapy water. dry. prime. paint. really makes the paint job last a lot longer.