Why Cleaning and Maintaining Your Wrought Iron Doors Is Important

Custom iron doors make your home look amazing and add to the curb appeal of your home. When your new wrought iron front door was installed, it included a special galvanization to protect it from the elements and rust.

Wrought iron doors are very durable and designed to last a long time. Yet, they can start to show signs of age if you do not clean and maintain your door. They can also develop rust, just like other types of metals exposed to the elements.

Rust isn’t something you need to worry about immediately if you take care of your door. Rust tends to appear on much older doors. Fortunately, if you are on top of your cleaning and maintenance, you can catch rust before it becomes an issue and ruins your front door. Ideally, you should try to clean your door at least once a month to maintain its beauty and charm.

Cleaning and Maintenance Materials for Wrought Iron Front Doors

You will need to make sure you have the right cleaning and maintenance materials beforehand. Some of the more common items you want to have include:

• Castile Soap
• Small Ladder
• Lint-Free Cleaning Cloths
• Small Bucket
• Garden Hose
• Garden Nozzle
• Sandpaper
• Rust-Preventing Primer Paint
• Metal Door Paint
• Small Paintbrush
• Painters’ Tape

If your door is fairly new, you may only need the cleaning supplies and a small ladder. However, if your door is older, then you can clean it first, then see if there are signs of rust.

Step 1: Mix Castile Soap in Water

Mix a small amount of the castile soap in your bucket with warm water. You don’t need a lot of soap. Just follow the mixing instruction on the bottle.

Step 2: Rinse the Door

Use a gentle water setting and rinse the door off. This helps remove dust, dirt, bugs, and other debris.

Step 3: Wash the Door

Take one of your cleaning cloths and dampen it in the soapy water. Wash the door from top to bottom. Don’t forget to wash the top ledge and sides of the door too.

Step 4: Rinse the Soap Off

Using a gentle water setting, rinse the door and make sure all soap has been removed.

Step 5: Dry the Door

Take a clean, dry cloth and dry the door as best as possible. You want to remove as much of the water as you can. You can prop the door open to help make it easier to dry.

Step 6: Inspect the Door

Once the door has been washed, you want to inspect it for signs of rust. If there is none, you are done. If there is rust, then continue with your door maintenance.

Step 7: Remove the Rust

Take your sandpaper and gently rub the spot with the rust. You just need to remove the rust from where it is on the door. Take a damp cloth and wipe off the spot and dry to make sure you removed all the rust.

Step 8: Prime the Door

Apply the rust-prevention primer paint to the locations where you removed rust. Make sure to use even brush strokes and all exposed metal is covered. Allow the paint to fully dry.

Step 9: Paint the Door

After the primer coat is dry, paint the door. If you use a matching paint color, you may just need to touch-up the spots that had rust. Otherwise, you want to paint the entire door. Make sure to use the painters’ tape to tape off any areas you do not need to paint.

As you can see, cleaning and maintaining wrought iron front doors is not that difficult. If you have further questions about cleaning your door or removing rust, please feel free to contact Precise Iron Doors at (818) 536-7690 today!