U.S. Cities  

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > House
Register Blogs Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Welcome to City-Data.com forum! Make sure to register - it's free and very quick! You have to register before you can post and participate in our discussions with 600,000 other registered members. User profiles and some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your free account you will be able to customize many options, you will have the full access to over 15,000 posts/day about local topics and you will see fewer ads. Within the last few months our forum was cited in an article in 15 newspapers.

Get a detailed profile of any city, county, or zip code:
      Search our forums (advanced):

Reply


 
Old 06-04-2008, 01:08 AM
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Liberty,TX
283 posts, read 219,087 times
Reputation: 108
AVTechMan will become famous soon enoughAVTechMan will become famous soon enoughAVTechMan will become famous soon enough
Default Fixing Up an Old Mailbox

I have a question concerning my mailbox....while doing a little cleaning on my property 2 weeks ago I found an old mailbox that is in good shape, but has some rust on the inside. The red flag is also in good shape as well. Its mostly surface rust so I could easily get it out with a wire brush. The mailboxes in my area are usually by the roadside (in my case along the county road) but there's no mailbox in front of my house. I figure instead of buying one I have one here I can fix up.

May be a too simple of a question, but would the best way to fix it up would be to get all the surface rust from the inside and then perhaps spray-paint it inside and out? If I do that and once freshly painted I can apply the new stickers of my address on there. Some people put their last name on their box, but I rather not do that though, as I figure the address is sufficient enough.

Where I am at I can't install the mailbox on the pole and stick it in the ground on my own since the county maintenance dept said that they would take it down if seen. I will have to bring them the mailbox in and when the maint people do their runs during the week they will install the box with the pole alongside the road. I believe they use the type of pole with reflective material for visibility which is why I think they have to put it up. But it doesn't cost me anything though.

Either way what would be the best way to fix up my old mailbox?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-04-2008, 07:04 AM
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: A little suburb of Houston
2,032 posts, read 1,356,138 times
Reputation: 515
Poltracker is a glorious beacon of lightPoltracker is a glorious beacon of lightPoltracker is a glorious beacon of lightPoltracker is a glorious beacon of lightPoltracker is a glorious beacon of lightPoltracker is a glorious beacon of lightPoltracker is a glorious beacon of lightPoltracker is a glorious beacon of lightPoltracker is a glorious beacon of lightPoltracker is a glorious beacon of light
I used a sandblaster on my old mailbox to get the rust off and scruff up the original brass finish, then repainted with a metallic paint (hammered copper) to match the finishes on my light fixtures. Don't see why hand sanding with wet/dry sandpaper would not work. Just make sure you get all the rust off then use a quality paint designed for metal.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-04-2008, 10:40 AM
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
4,143 posts, read 1,934,924 times
Reputation: 975
chet everett is a splendid one to beholdchet everett is a splendid one to beholdchet everett is a splendid one to beholdchet everett is a splendid one to beholdchet everett is a splendid one to beholdchet everett is a splendid one to beholdchet everett is a splendid one to beholdchet everett is a splendid one to beholdchet everett is a splendid one to beholdchet everett is a splendid one to beholdchet everett is a splendid one to beholdchet everett is a splendid one to beholdchet everett is a splendid one to beholdchet everett is a splendid one to beholdchet everett is a splendid one to beholdchet everett is a splendid one to behold
Unless the box is VERY heavy plate steel I would just get an Aluminum one. Once cheap thin steel starts to rust it loses integrity on a level you can't see and will always get rusty.

The heavy steel plate mailboxes have a electrostatically applied primer coat that should never come off and typically a powder-coated finish that is quite durable. Old galvanization was effective to a certain extent, but as the tins weathers away the steel is doomed to rust.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-04-2008, 03:39 PM
Life is a Journey
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Yellow Brick Road
17,719 posts, read 7,495,558 times
Blog Entries: 5
Reputation: 3295
anifani821 has a reputation beyond repute
anifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond repute
I would clean it up as you said - w/ a wire brush - and maybe some naval jelly - and then I would get some Rustoleum paint. I have painted two different mailboxes in the last 25 years, and did them both that way. Rustoleum is great. I painted one black and the other was more a grey metal color. A new mailbox is not that expensive, but if this one is in good shape, and you can recycle it . . . go for it! Nice to recycle (or reclaim) an object and put it back in service.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-06-2008, 08:12 PM
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Pittsburgh, USA
1,483 posts, read 794,678 times
Reputation: 275
PeterRabbit is a jewel in the roughPeterRabbit is a jewel in the roughPeterRabbit is a jewel in the roughPeterRabbit is a jewel in the roughPeterRabbit is a jewel in the roughPeterRabbit is a jewel in the rough
I would use naval jelly although a jar of that might cost as much as a new mailbox. It's handy to have around anyhow.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-07-2008, 08:36 AM
Life is a Journey
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Yellow Brick Road
17,719 posts, read 7,495,558 times
Blog Entries: 5
Reputation: 3295
anifani821 has a reputation beyond repute
anifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond reputeanifani821 has a reputation beyond repute
Quote:
Originally Posted by PeterRabbit View Post
I would use naval jelly although a jar of that might cost as much as a new mailbox. It's handy to have around anyhow.
I agree, PeterR. I put naval jelly to good use in many ways, including reclaiming tools my DH has let get rusted!!! The stuff is great - once you have some at your disposal, you do find other ways to use it . . . at least, I have.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.



Reply


Quick Reply
Message:

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Similar Threads

Forum Jump

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > House

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:58 PM.

Copyright © 2005-2009, Advameg, Inc.

City-Data.com - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 - Top