One of the most asked questions when considering a new steel staircase is about rusting. Nobody wants to do more work than needed or give themselves more chores. Many people ask about galvanizing for this reason but galvanizing is a very rough finish and will look bad in a very short period of time. People mistake the term galvanizing with polished stainless steel or chrome which it isnt, in fact the finish is the complete opposite. The electroplated finish of galvanized steel is rough, similar to a turtle’s shell with pimples and drip marks from being bathed in zinc. It is also blotchy and unevenly colored which only gets worse in the sun. Painting galvanized material actually makes it worse, it makes all the pimples, bumps and drips bigger and tents to peel much faster.
What people need to realize is that the paint that is available nowadays for metals is a universe away from what paint was a few decades ago. Modern day primers and paints last much longer and look much better than twenty years ago or so, and can be upgraded to include acrylics. What is produced is similar looking to an automobile as each layer takes a few days to cure. With painting, the steel can be prepped and sanded beautifully and if painted properly will produce an amazingly finished product long lasting against usage and the elements, and repainting is much more infrequent.
In summary as with anything else, the quality of the craftsmanship in finishing, sanding and quality of paint and painting is crucial to how well your investment looks and services your needs over time. And to such, you get what you pay for in value. Many small inexpensive shops are not experienced or knowledgeable, nor do they have the proper tools and shop to finish steel properly. So keep that in mind when considering your next steel fabrication project – especially metal staircases and railings which are an expensive item and will be used for many years and viewed by many people as it is a long term, real property addition to your real estate and pricing will fluctuate greatly.
We have been called many many times over the years to try and fix jobs which were not done properly and it cannot be done once installed, so shop for value and quality versus pricing, as its much cheaper in the long term to pay more and buy quality to add to your real estate.
