[TheForge] Finishing Pure Iron

[Dave Brown]

At 05:39 03/30/02 -0800, you wrote:
>I posted this a few weeks back and got not response,
>thought I would try again.
>
>Is there any difference between the finihsing that is
>required for pure iron and for mild steel. Does it
>oxide differently? Do the oil and wax finishes still
>work?Does it last any longer in the weather?
>
>Frederick Faller

Frederick,

I can only speak from conjecture on this.  From all I understand, the pure 
iron oxidizes much less than does mild steel.  This is mainly because of 
the absence or near absence of carbon in the steel/iron.

As far as finishing is concerned, I don't see why the same finishing 
blends/paints wouldn't work the same.  If the 'traditional' oil finishes 
worked on wrought iron and still do, then why not on the PI that is 
somewhere in between?

Combining these two thought:  If low carbon content results in low 
oxidation rates, and old finishing oils/waxes will adhere as well, then the 
final result sounds better than what you'd get using mild steel.

Make sense?  Does to me, but I could be misremembering or way out on a limb 
with my logic.

Dave Brown