Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

Paint a rusty metal gate

Updated: 23 October 2026

The rust is on the bottom rail and along the scrolls, and last year’s paint is lifting in flakes. By the end you should know whether this gate can take a Direct to Rust colour coat, how to cover both faces, and whether 250 ml or 750 ml is the tin to order. This is not a chassis, galvanised-metal or indoor radiator page. The [anti-rust paint comparison](/hub/paints-and-varnishes/anti-rust-paint) holds every staged price. Peter F. has not painted a gate for this page. The method follows Hammerite’s UK gate guide and the staged amazon.co.uk reviews, compiled on 20 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

The rust is on the bottom rail and along the scrolls, and last year’s paint is lifting in flakes.

Our top picks

Hammerite Hammerite smooth black 750 ml

Best overall

Hammerite Hammerite smooth black 750 ml
9.4/10about £20.43
View offer
Hammerite Hammerite hammered black 250 ml

Alternative

Hammerite Hammerite hammered black 250 ml
9.4/10about £10.49
View offer
Hammerite Hammerite Kurust 90 ml

Best value

Hammerite Hammerite Kurust 90 ml
9.2/10about £7.20
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Steel gate or galvanised gate
  2. 2.Prepare and paint both faces
  3. 3.How much tin
  4. 4.Which black to buy
  5. 5.Weather and the failures that come back

Steel gate or galvanised gate

Hammerite Direct to Rust is for rusted or bare ferrous metal. If the galvanising is intact and shiny, stop. If it has weathered back to ordinary steel, you are painting steel, and the flakes still come off. Retail pages sometimes say the same smooth black suits non-ferrous metal. That line is wider than Hammerite’s own warning. Severe scale and deep pits are where Hammerite’s gate guide allows a rust treatment first, then the colour. That split sits on the converter versus paint page. Do not promise eight years on a coastal railing. The up-to-8-years sentence is the maker’s claim.

Prepare and paint both faces

Wire-brush loose rust and flaking paint even when the tin says direct to rust. Dust off, degrease, rinse and dry. Wear the protection you would for solvent brushwork in a through-draught. Scrolls and joints come first, with a small brush, then the faces and the edges. The bottom bar, and the gap where a gate meets a plinth, holds water. Leave the gate open on a dry day. The smooth product page says two coats inside 8–25°C, with no thinning. Listing fields of 24 or 48 hours are the conflict the how to apply page settles in favour of the maker. Thick enamel on the top-pick tin skins on the brush in warm weather.
Hammerite Hammerite smooth black 750 ml

Testsieger

Hammerite Hammerite smooth black 750 ml
9.4/10about £20.43
View offer

How much tin

Hammerite’s UK pages use about 5 m² per litre. Toolstation’s figure for manufacturer ID 5092966 is a trade calculation, not a measured British garden gate. A pair of gates, or long railings with heavy scrolls, can take more than one 750 ml tin. A 250 ml tin is a touch-up or a small frame. Ornate edges can empty it before the second face exists. Reviewers of hammered black 250 ml describe front railings, a garden gate or a bench after loose rust was brushed off.

Which black to buy

B004R23DE2 is the same smooth black at £22.00 with 4.7 from 1,454 reviews. Nothing staged here makes the dearer tin the better gate paint. Hammered black 250 ml is £10.49 with 4.7 from 4,738 reviews, a pitted black for a small frame. One buyer expected the pattern and got a smooth result when the coat was thin or cold. Kurust comes first only when the pits are bad enough that a treatment makes sense, and you still buy the colour afterwards.

Weather and the failures that come back

Rain on a fresh coat, and heat that skins the brush, waste a dry weekend. Wait for a dry day and stay inside 8–25°C. If the black enamel is tacking off on the bristles, you are at the warm end of that window or the tin is in the sun. One reviewer of the top-pick tin aims to stay under about 20°C. Shutting the gate before the second coat has dried will print the latch into the film.

Common questions

Can I paint a rusty gate straight from the tin?
You can paint tight rust on ferrous steel without a separate primer, which is the Direct to Rust claim. You still wire-brush flakes, wash grease off, and let the metal dry. Hammerite’s gate guide says that even for this paint. A tin opened onto loose scale is how the coat fails, not a shortcut the listing has permitted.
Do I paint the back and the edges?
Yes. Both faces, the scrolls, and the edges, including the bottom bar where water sits. Start with a small brush on the awkward parts, then the flat faces, and leave the gate open while it dries. A front-only coat looks finished from the path and rusts from the lane side. The second coat follows after about 4 hours on the smooth product page.
Is one 750 ml tin enough?
It is the right start for one ordinary steel gate. Toolstation’s figure for smooth black 750 ml is about 3.75 m² at 5 m² per litre, which is a trade calculation, not your gate measured. Two coats, both sides and the edges, can use that up. A pair of gates or heavy railings may need another tin. The listing’s 10–12 m² per litre will make you buy short.
Is 250 ml of hammered black enough for railings?
For a short run or a small gate after loose rust is brushed off, reviewers say one 250 ml tin has covered the job. It is £10.49. It is not the tin for two coats on a pair of gates. The hammered pattern can also fail to show if the coat is thin or the day is cold. Gloss black in 750 ml is the quantity choice when the area is a real gate.
What if the gate is galvanised?
Do not use Direct to Rust as the first coat on bare galvanising. Hammerite keeps zinc, aluminium and galvanised metal on a special primer or galvanised paint. Paint this range once you are down to ferrous steel. A shop line that adds non-ferrous metal to the same tin is the claim to ignore.
Which tin is the top pick for a black gloss gate?
Hammerite smooth black 750 ml, B0082LTMD0, at £20.43 and 4.7 from 7,075 reviews. The other smooth black 750 ml is £22.00 with fewer reviews and the same job. Hammered 250 ml is the texture, not the full-gate quantity. Check the size field, which also says 1 L, against the 750 ml title before you assume how far it will go.

Related pages

Best anti rust paint UK: colour coat or converter

Best Hammerite for rusty metal

Anti-rust paint

Rust converter vs rust paint: chip, gate or colour coat

How to paint rusty metal: coats and the cleanup

Sources

Public sources from the research digest, last checked on 22 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures in the display file. The price band is this set, not a market average. No listing was lab-tested.

  1. Hammerite Direct to Rust (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. Hammerite Direct to Rust metal paint, smooth finish (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. Hammerite Direct to Rust metal paint, hammered finish (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. Hammerite Kurust (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. VOC in Paints, Varnishes and Vehicle Refinishing Products Regulations 2012 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. HSE OCE2: solvent brush painting controls (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. GOV.UK: hazardous waste disposal (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. Rustins rust converter data sheet (retrieved 22 October 2026)