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I had to take a break from thinking about my second guest redo project so I decided to give some old stuff in the yard a face lift.

I have these things in the back yard that I want to use on a patio we will put in at some point in the future. The pieces were black and starting to rust.
I coated with Flood product Penetrol and let cure for a week. This stopped the rust.

Then got a gray color exterior paint and primer in one and painted them with Valspar, color Muted Ebony. I used an exterior paint that is primer and paint in one and soap and water clean up. The picture was taken when the items only had one coat. I have to go over each piece to make sure they are covered well.

I still have another table to do, but liking the gray more than the original black they were (which had too much contrast). I like the color they came out, almost like a blackboard. The gray is lighter in sunlight and turns real dark at dusk or in the shade.

Took this photo just now out my sliders off the Den.

Mary Ruth, that is beautiful! So many of these are white. It's nice to see the ebony.

What will you be putting in it? Or, will it remain empty?

Looks fab MR. Love the bird cage. Paint renews most everything. I need to paint mine too.

Mary Ruth,

Love that you are gathering furniture for your future patio. Great change with painting them.

Don't you love seeing the "green grass" almost year round? What size patio are you doing?

I do like white outdoor furniture too, but in this yard it just spoke 'gray' to me! I am not sure if I will put anything in the birdcage since I had planned to use it for Canaries and keep it in a screened in patio, but the house I was planning for we didn't buy. This house has no outside screened in porch area.

I have had a few neighbors also comment on the birdcage. I bought it in Virginia on Craigslist and brought it here. Funny, I bought it from a lady who had just moved up from Florida, I told her I was bringing it back! She kept Canaries in it! We laughed at the coincidence!

I would love a screened in patio, but not sure if that will happen. We have a small slab just outside the sliders off the Den. I want to extend that with cement tiles and thyme growing in between and some purselane perhaps. I really like the natural shaped stone with greens in between. This kind of grass that grows here is aggressive and invades fast EXCEPT where you want it to grow! lol

We want to close in an area of the yard with privacy fencing off our Master bedroom with an outdoor shower, that will be poured slab, with tile installed on top I think (gray and white checked). I want a Pergola top on that patio. That is where this furniture will go and lots of potted plants and decor. It will be seen from the Master Bedroom, and I want lights for at night to view from indoors.

The birdcage will be part of a vignette in that small patio area where it will become an outdoor room.

Yes I used to live in Fort Lauderdale (13 yrs) then moved to Virginia following my husband to live near his brother. We lasted there 11 yrs. And we decided to move back to Florida, but not as far South as Ft Laud, too crowded for us now.

All this rain (and in June) will make the grass real green, I just love looking outside and walking in the back area to see all that lush green!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mary Ruth,

Where they painted befor & then you painted & let stand for a wk.I have some i need to repaint.I paint them every year with rust paint but they still rust,

Yes Jeannette they were painted before and showing spots of rust. All the pieces have been outside for at least a year. They had signs of wear before I put them outside. I was not sure what to do with them so I just left them out in the yard.

I used a product by Flood called Penetrol. This is a liquid that is a little bit of a thick honey colored liquid. I put it on all the surfaces of each piece with a paint brush. You need mineral spirits to clean the brush. I just bought the throw away kind to use. I put on a thick coat and two coats in some areas on all the pieces. This is supposed to solidify any rust that is on the metal and seal it. I have used this product for many years to seal tools and metal parts left outside.

Then I let it cure, one because I wanted the Penetrol to dry properly and then didn't get back to the project right away. If it is humid out the Penetrol can take a few days to fully dry.

I do not use spray paint on outdoor furniture or something I will leave out. I feel I get more paint on with a brush and can really get into the crevices. I will give this stuff I painted another coat of paint to insure I got all the surface covered.

Next year I will look over the items I painted and check to see if there are any cracks in the paint that will allow rust to start again. And I will treat those areas. I do live in Florida and just a few miles from the beach so there is a little salt in the air at times and this is rough on anything out of doors.

The only thing I heard of around here that keeps anything metal from rusting is to have it powder coated. They do sell lawn furniture that is already powder coated and it looks well coated. This is an expensive process to have done.

Good luck with your outdoor furniture and yard work is never done, neither is maintaining a home!

Love your birdcage! Your outdoor room outside your bedroom is such a good idea in your climate! An outdoor shower - how wonderful!

If we ever get to that project, I will be sure and post pictures!