Does Metal Yard Art Rust?

Artwork can add to the overall beauty of your home. They are a delight whether indoors or outdoors. However, when placed outdoors, it can become a point of attraction for visitors or neighbors.

Unfortunately, weather elements can cause art to deteriorate over time, especially if it's made of metal. Here are some ways to prevent outdoor metal art from rusting:

Choosing the Best Metal for Outdoor Sculpture

Practical prevention begins with choosing the right materials for your metal art. This will ensure that you don’t spend too much time on maintenance.

One of the materials you can choose is aluminum; without a doubt, it is the best metal to prevent rust. For even more protection, you can use powder coating on your metal artwork. In addition to protection, it can also help you customize the look of your art.

protective clear coat

Generally speaking, placing metal art outdoors exposes it to elements such as oxygen and water. These elements cause the metal to oxidize, which can lead to rust. When your metal art is outdoors, rust is inevitable; therefore, you need to constantly care for your art.

If your metal art is outdoors and regularly exposed to air, rain, sun, and snow, you should apply a protective clear coat every year.

Dust removal

Dust is unavoidable; it can come from any source; people, furniture, and even clothing. Over time, it spreads through the air and accumulates on metal surfaces. No matter how careful you are, it doesn't matter. You will always find dust in metal art. Therefore, frequent cleaning is required to prevent long-term accumulation.

If you want to remove dust, use a soft, clean cloth. It's important that the fabric is soft as you don't want to scratch the surface of your metal artwork. Removing dust does not require expertise; but you need to follow it to avoid dust accumulation.

keep covered

As mentioned before, continued exposure to sunlight and other weather elements can cause rust. Even if your metal art is coated, water can drip onto the unprotected surface and cause oxidation. Additionally, water droplets on a metal surface focus sunlight on that spot, allowing moisture to penetrate. This will cause corrosion of the metal underneath the paint.

You can avoid this problem by covering your artwork with a privacy cover. You can place it under a roofed area or put up a roof to cover the metal art. This will allow you to protect your metal art from the elements. If you are unable to do this, you can opt for a metal art cover such as a canvas tarp.

Use grease

Grease is another way to prevent water from seeping into metal art. This is desirable, especially if your artwork has moving parts. The oil in the grease will act as an extra layer of protection by waterproofing it. Using grease will help you lubricate your art and protect it from moisture damage.

The disadvantage of grease is that it attracts dust. Therefore, if you use this method to protect your art, you must be prepared for daily cleaning. When cleaning, make sure not to use cleaning products that can break down oils.