How to Properly Treat Rust on Your Garage Door

Just over a year ago you paid for a new Loveland garage door installation to give your home a fresh look. The garage door sales expert got you a great deal, and it was fitted quickly and efficiently. Not only do you love it, but your neighbors love it, and visitors ever since have complimented you on your choice of overhead door – combining style and durability to great effect. Your front yard looks great, too. When it comes to the front of your home, life is pretty good!

Hold up, what’s this? Colorado has just been hit by a bad winter and you’ve woken up to find a crusty red and brown patch on your once-perfect garage door. Not only does it look messy, it's clear that the metal is peeling away in flakes, and it won’t be long before your secure door has a hole in it – putting your garage at risk of dampness, theft, and a nasty pest infestation.

So what’s the red and brown patch? Well, if you’ve not already guessed, it’s likely to be rust! Thankfully, as Loveland garage door repair and installation experts, we can help!

Rust – What Is It?

We could talk for hours about rust if we wanted to get technical. Alas, that’s not what you’re here for! So put simply, rust is the term given to the corrosion of metal – mainly iron and steel – due to over-exposure to water (or air moisture) and oxygen.

To look at, rust is a red or orange coating that forms on the surface of the metal in question. So, in this case, your garage door! Rust can form on a range of metals when they aren’t coated with special paint or rust-inhibitor sprays, or given adequate protection from the elements.

What’s The Damage?

Aside from the obvious aesthetic damage (nobody likes the look of a crusty garage door), rust can do a lot of physical and structural damage to metal, too. Examples include:

• Weaker metal – rust is essentially corrosion, that replaces the strong metal with flakes, so it inevitably makes the structure of your metal weaker
• Holes - if untreated, rust can literally leave you with holes in your sheet metal
• Friction – rust can prevent moving parts from gliding seamlessly
• Conduction – rust can stop your metal from conducting electricity properly

Treating Rust – Properly!

There are lots of different ways to treat rust on your garage door, but not all of them are effective. Trust us when we say that when it comes to getting rid of rust, you want to do it properly. Here are our top tips:

Wipe Down The Rust

Firstly, you’re going to need to clean up the rust and get rid of it. Soak a cloth in white vinegar (the white vinegar is really important – it will cause the rust to dissolve) and wipe all the rusted areas thoroughly. You might want to use a steel scourer to help with this. It’s important that you do this part properly, as any rust left behind could spread.

Fill Any Holes

Now you need to fill in any holes that have been created by the rusting process. You should use auto-body filler for this, or a metal bonding agent, and then let it dry. Once it’s dried, sand down the areas you have filled, before sanding down the rest of the door with fine-grit sandpaper.

Wash Your Door!

The cleaning continues! Before you can move on to the next step, your door needs to be clean. Brush off any residue from the sanding and scrubbing, and then wash down the door with some soapy water. Then rinse it down and let it dry fully before moving on to step four.

Get Painting

Now the fun begins! You’ll need to paint your door with a specialist primer and paint that is rust-resistant and specifically made for metal garage doors. Ideally, you should do this with a spray gun, as this will give an even, smooth coating that will be harder to get using a brush or roller.

Our garage door service team recommends painting the entire door to ensure that it looks smart and consistent. Otherwise, you risk having patches of fresh paint that will stand out like a sore thumb! Another bit of advice is to do this on a dry day, as it may take a while for the specialist paint to fully dry.

Bring In Help

Sometimes, doing it yourself is simply not the way forward. And that’s ok! Garage doors are complex, as is rust removal, and lots of people would rather get professional help for a job like this. Get in touch with us today, as your local garage door repair experts, and we’ll gladly assist.

Loveland Garage Door Repair

Here at C & M Garage Doors, we have been in the industry since 1994. In that time we have built up a long list of happy customers and are proud to say we are now the local choice for Loveland garage door repair, garage door sales, and garage door installation.

We serve all of Northern Colorado so, if you live in or around Loveland, Berthoud, Longmont, Fort Collins, or Wellington, we can help. Give us a call today at (970) 663-733 five and we'll be glad to come and assist you.