When to Choose Raw Steel

Raw steel means uncoated "mild" or "carbon" steel, which will rust over time. If it rusts, why do we sell it?! Find out in this guide.

Raw steel will rust

Rusting is a natural property of all steels, unless they are specific grades of stainless steel or are treated, painted or coated.

Why Choose Raw Steel?

Rusted / Rustic Look

Some people want a rusted look. To achieve this you should:

• Buy raw steel legs

• Remove the protective oil using a degreaser

• Leave outside or in a humid area. You can accelerate the process using an acid such as citric acid or lemon juice.

• One the desired level of rusting has been achieved, we suggest "locking" it off with Owatrol Oil Paint Conditioner. This product can be applied neat, allowing a few days to fully dry.

Paint or Finish Yourself

If you plan to paint or finish the legs yourself, then buying raw steel will get you off to a great start.

Painting Raw Steel

How Long Does Raw Steel Take to Rust?

Indoors

Raw steel legs can rust indoors due to air moisture, varying by home humidity. They may last months or years indoors without rusting in the best environments (clean, dry air) but could equally rust within weeks or days in less favourable areas (salty coastal air / high humidity).

Outdoors

If it rains your raw steel legs will rust within a matter of hours.

Coastal / Urban / Air Quality

The type of air (indoors or out) can drastically effect the speed of corrosion of steel products, especially raw mild steel.

• Salt air attacks steel at many times the normal rate.

• Industrial areas may contain corrosive particulates.

Restoring Rusted Raw Steel

So long as the rust is not allowed to spread too deep into the steel, raw steel can be restored back to its former glory quite easily.

• Apply WD40 to the rusted legs and allow to sit for around 30 minutes.

• Take a kitchen scour pad (the green fabric type material) and apply more WD40 to pad.

• Work the pad in a circular motion over all parts of the rusted steel. Apply more WD40 if it starts to dry out.

• Wipe the legs with a dry cloth.

Maintaining Raw Steel

If you have selected uncoated raw steel for your finish and want to keep the rust away, here are some options:

• Furniture wax: applied liberally will protect raw steel for a good amount of time, but it is not ever lasting, so be sure to apply as soon as you see any kind of rust starting to show.

• WD40: If you have cleaned your legs using WD40, the residue that remains will protect the steel from rusting for quite a few months, in most cases.

These solutions are only really suitable for indoor use and may not work very well in coastal air (anywhere within 10 miles of the sea) due to high levels of salt.

We suggest choosing one of our clear coat options for that natural raw steel look, but without the rust. All of our clear coats are satin finish and are almost indistinguishable from uncoated raw steel.