The outdoor decoration of garden spaces can alter the overall appearance of your property in an instant. This is why many house owners prefer using theme-based garden makeovers to redefine their home’s old charm.
However, a theme-based makeover requires accuracy and aesthetic balance. To match the garden ambiance, the best alternative remains a rustic look. This is where the rust accelerator Corten+ can be useful. When you place plants in Corten steel pots, they rust over a certain time.
Depending on the season and the weather condition, the natural rusting may take place over a few months or a year.
If you are not ready to wait for that long, applying a rust accelerator on new metal pots can be a good idea. Here is a brief idea about how you should go about the coating process to get the desired finish.
The Process
- For cold rolled surfaces, grease removal should be the first step. For hot rolled ones, sand the surface area properly. Let the surface dry completely.
- When kept in a place, the rust accelerator might get deposited at the bottom of the container. So, shake it well before using it.
- To cover the pot with the accelerator, spread it with the help of a roller. Make sure that the cover is even or else the rusting will not happen uniformly. If you have removed the surface grease properly and pushed the roller adequately, the product will not drip off the surface.
- 30 minutes after covering the surface, the color of the surface will begin to turn blue due to oxidation. If you spot any area not changing the tone, you must have missed coating that part. This is why spreading the product uniformly is critical.
- Rusted metal pots can be one of the ways to design your outdoor garden space. Therefore, you can apply another coat of accelerator water to the pot. Humid conditions and more than 60°F temperature level help in the process.
- Once the corrosion process sets in motion, you do not have to apply other chemicals to stop it. The rust accelerator is acid-free and does not corrode the pot beyond its surface.
- Let the surface get rusted completely. The process takes about 2 weeks and the orange-rust hue darkens with every passing day during this time.
- Placing rusted metal pots in the garden can be one of the ways to design your outdoor garden space. However, make sure to use varnish if the pot is going to remain permanently exposed to humid conditions.
Additional Information
The followings are a few pieces of information that will help apply the rust accelerator more effectively.
- Appropriate Range of Temperature for Applying Corten+: 40 °F to 100 °F
- Average Coverage area Of the Accelerator: 800 sq. ft. per Gallon
- Average Coverage area Of the Varnish: 400sq.ft. per Gallon
- Average time needed to dry the accelerator completely: 30 minutes
- Average time needed to dry the varnish completely: 6 hours (Do not apply another coat before 9 hours)
Maintaining all these specifications in mind helps obtain the optimal outcome. For revamping your outdoor space, a rust accelerator can be an excellent, affordable, and safe choice.
