Stopping rust streaks from hanging brackets

boardtc

I put these brackets for hanging baskets up 2 years ago:


I took them off today as we are painting the house:

So the covering has come off in spots and that caused the rust streaks.
Any advice on how to stop this happening again?

martinr5232

New brackets or small tin of hammerite paint whichever is cheaper.

jack of all

Touch up the rust spots with paint as suggested. I find when fitting metal brackets (even galvanised) to walls that it's often where the metal is in direct contact with the wall that rust or staining is a problem. I make washers from the plastic lid of a paint bucket or similar and use them as spacers between the bracket and the wall. The plastic help prevent the paint or galvanise coating from scratching in contact with a rough wall surface and the tiny air gap created minimises water and dirt being trapped there also. Might sound a bit OTT but it works well for me.

colm_mcm

Rust could be from the screws as well.

Outkast_IRE

You can get cast aluminium ones that wont rust , you would just need to ensure your screws are a good quality stainless or similar cause those will rust too.

If you want to keep current brackets , then scrub with a steel brush to remove all flaking and debris before painting with hammerite , but you will be doing the same again in a few years. The cast alluminium ones are not that expensive.

tphase

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

You can get cast aluminium ones that wont rust , you would just need to ensure your screws are a good quality stainless or similar cause those will rust too.

If you want to keep current brackets , then scrub with a steel brush to remove all flaking and debris before painting with hammerite , but you will be doing the same again in a few years. The cast alluminium ones are that expensive.

don't put stainless screws in direct contact with the aluminium as it will corrode

Outkast_IRE

tphase wrote: »

don't put stainless screws in direct contact with the aluminium as it will corrode

I think alot of the cast aluminium ones are a plastic coated finish to prevent this issue , but you are correct you would want to be confirming it or else get a suitable screw if its going to be in direct contact.

boardtc

Thanks for the advice! What worries me about the current brackets is if I just pull off the coating where it's degraded and Hammerite it there then what's to stop it happening at other parts of the bracket. @jack_of_all the plastic washer idea is cool.

Cast aluminium hanging bracket brackets does seem the best plan for longevity, @Outkast_IRE says they are expensive. Any tips on where to source so I can price?

Outkast_IRE

boardtc wrote: »

Thanks for the advice! What worries me about the current brackets is if I just pull of the coating where it's degraded and hamerite there then what's to stop it happeneing at other parts iof the bracket. @jack_of_all the plastic washer idea is cool.

Cast alumimun hanging backet brackets does seem the best plan for lengevity, @Outkast_IRE says they are expensive. Any tips on where to source so I can price?

Sorry that meant to say, not that expensive . if you google cast aluminium hanging basket bracket several suppliers will come up both Irish and Amazon , seems to be about €10-15 before delivery

boardtc

Trying to find an Irish supplier so I am not waiting for weeks, they are proving hard to source, e.g hardwareireland, contrary to website info are out of stock. That said the ones on Amazon are more ornate that we are looking for.

cheif kaiser

Gavanized?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heavy-duty-hanging-basket-bracket-Galvanized-zinc/293576661665?hash=item445a885aa1:g:pQ4AAMXQinlRj4W3

boardtc

Thanks @cheif kaiser! I am not really up on galvanised. That coating on my current ones is that a galvanised coating that's peeling off in places? I think it's just a plastic which is different than galvanised is it?

The ones you link to are mild steel with galvanised zinc coating, would the same rusting potentially happen as to my last ones?

cheif kaiser

boardtc wrote: »

Thanks @cheif kaiser! I am not really up on galvanised. That coating on my current ones is that a galvanised coating that's peeling off in places? I think it's just a plastic which is different than galvanised is it?

The ones you link to are mild steel with galvanised zinc coating, would the same rusting potentially happen as to my last ones?

You are correct, the stuff peeling off is a plastic coating.

Galvanized steel, is steel that has been coated in zinc and will not rust. No plastic coating to peel off. You can spray paint them to your desire colour, if you wish.

The reason you can only find very ornate Aluminium brackets, is because aluminium is not that strong and the ornate decor is to give it more stability.

boardtc

Fantastic, thanks. Learn something new every day. Will go for them so and then maybe spray paint them white so then blend in when not being used during the winter. What screws would you recommend to get. I might still use that plastic washer trick too.

cheif kaiser

boardtc wrote: »

Fantastic, thanks. Learn something new every day. Will go for them so and then maybe spray paint them white so then blend in when not being used during the winter. What screws would you recommend to get. I might still use that plastic washer trick too.

Assuming you are attaching to concrete, I would personally use 5 x 50mm general purpose screws with brown wall plugs. That's what I used for my hanging baskets and found them plenty strong enough.

cheif kaiser

There you go, you can even get a handy pack in Woodies https://www.woodies.ie/rawlplug-7mm-universal-brown-uno-plugs-with-screws-pack-of-10-1002997

boardtc

@cheif_kaiser sorry for not being clear, I was referring to the screws rusting and if you had any recommendations for non-rust screws.

The bracket you put me onto has 8" spacing versus my 10 so I'll be drilling a new bottom hole.

cheif kaiser

boardtc wrote: »

@cheif_kaiser sorry for not being clear, I was referring to the screws rusting and if you had any recommendations for non-rust screws.

The bracket you put me onto has 8" spacing versus my 10 so I'll be drilling a new bottom hole.

Generally if a screw is shiny silver, it is zinc coated. I have always used silver screws for outdoor use and have never had any issues with rust.

boardtc

cheif kaiser wrote: »

Generally if a screw is shiny silver, it is zinc coated. I have always used silver screws for outdoor use and have never had any issues with rust.

Great info, thanks!!