Old love doesn't rust? A gardener who loves his garden particularly relies on rusting objects as decorative material. Use the ideas presented on this page to see for yourself that a layer of rust is by no means a reason to throw away old items.
How can you make garden decorations out of rust yourself?
To make garden decorations from rust yourself, you need ferrous metal, swimming pool cleaner, hydrochloric or acetic acid and sandpaper. Remove the galvanizing, sand the surface, spray the metal with acid and wait for rust to form.
Stage rust accessories
Rust gives your garden a special charm. Due to its natural appearance, it fits wonderfully into cottage gardens, but also harmonizes with the so-called industrial style of Morden gardens and the popular “shabby chic”. Even in English gardens, the look is quite appropriate. If you want to particularly highlight your rust decoration, it is best to place it
- in front of walls
- in front of green hedges
- at ponds
- in front of bushes
Make your own rusting decorative items
How does rust form?
Rust is the result when oxygen, water and iron oxidize. This is not just a layer on the surface of the material. Rust, so to speak, eats into the iron and makes it porous. You should therefore proceed carefully when working with elements that are already rusting.
Letting iron rust
You need:
- ferrous metal
- Swimming pool cleaner
- 10% hydrochloric or acetic acid
- Sandpaper
- First you have to cut the galvanizing of the metal.
- To do this, mix 0.25 L swimming pool cleaner (€7.00 at Amazon) with 0.75 L ml water.
- Put the metal in the solution for a few hours.
- Rinse the metal well.
- Roughen the surface with the sandpaper.
- This way you accelerate oxidation.
- Spray the metal with hydrochloric or acetic acid.
- Then wash it off again with water.
- Wait until a layer of rust forms.
Either you use already formed objects when making the rust, or you rustle simple metal and later process it into balls or figures.
