boot rack - need finish suggestions

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made a horseshoe boot rack for a fundraiser.  looking for suggestions on how to finish it.  was originally thinking satin black, but that seems to be rather blah.i've got some "aged iron" and "hammered" black Rust-Oleum rattle cans, but i'm open to other ideas.  i had thought about just clear-coating it, but i've got a couple grinder marks on it where i had to re-do a couple welds (welded the top crooked on the first try)i had also thought about gun blue, but the shoes have mill scale on them. i hit the shoes with the wire wheel before i welded them, but the mill scale is still there.  i'm afraid the gun blue wouldn't take very evenly, but I've never tried it either.being that it is a give-away trying to raise money, whatever i do can't cost too much. "action shot"(had to make sure that i didn't have to re-do it again .. lol)open to ideas.thanks for looking!Last edited by Meborder; 02-09-2013 at 09:33 PM.
Reply:Looks good!  Better than lots I've seen elsewhere. Should be a hit.
Reply:I vote for gray hammer tone.  It would give a little bit of visual interest, but not stick out too much.  Or may a brown hammer tone.  That would kinda look like rusted metal, without the actual rust to mess up the boots.Kevin / Machine_Punk from The Aerodrome Studio - Lincoln PowerMIG 210 MP - Meco N Midget w/custom welding station - Vintage Victor 100Current Projects: The Aerodrome Studio
Reply:a torch will pop that mill scale, and a little oil brushed on while its cooling makes a nice finish..experiment a little..
Reply:Very nice. I have a friend who has two girls and a niece who love to ride horses. I think I just came up with the next Christmas/ birthday present for them. I'd probably go with a hot wax finish myself if there aren't a lot of shiny grind marks to deal with. Hammered paint or black would be my next 2 choices.What size horse shoes did you find fit full size boots well? I might try and make one, but if I need to order shoes on line I'd like an idea what size to order..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:thanks for the compliments. i'm glad to hear that others like it cauz i'm hoping people will buy tickets sorry, it was late and i forgot to give construction details. I used a "1 standard" shoe and spread them out a bit so the boots would fit in (a "2 standard" might be better)  the shoes for the legs are just they way they come. shoes sourced from TSC @ $9/4.  the bar for the boot heels is 1/2" HR.  sized more for presence than anything.If i ever do another one, i'll make some kind of jig so i don't have to cut it apart and re-do it I would LOVE to do a brushed-oil or hot wax finish, but i don't have a torch.  I'm leaning toward the black hammer paint.I'm doing a couple other do-dads for raffle or sale as well, so i'll post them up as they come along.  see what ya'all think of those as well.thanks for the tips!  i'm all ears!
Reply:You don't need to get the unit super hot to do a wax finish. Most of the blacksmithing stuff I do I can still handle the "hot" steel with only a rag for heat protection. You could probably pop it in the oven on low and get it hot enough to take a wax finish, though I've never done it with a conventional oven.Thanks on the sizing. I've got some shoes from TSC out in the garage for another project. I'll have to take a look and see what size they are..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Either hot oil, or rust it and clear coat.
Reply:a rust finish would be nice too, just not sure how to do that.here's a couple others i did this morning.  snowing out so as good as time as any to play with the welder.I'm real proud of the cross, everything just came together.  i think the cross is going to get the "aged iron" textured paint. double-ought "special hind" shoes for shape.this one ... i'm gonna have to do something with the welds.  for some reason, when i shut the welder off then turn it back on, everything runs different.  i'll get it all dialed in, then if i shut it off the next time it is just a rod-stick'in-piece-of-.... so i made this too .... i think this one is gonna get the grinder before anyone it goes on display.
Reply:Dang.... you are full of all sorts of great ideas to do with these. Got any more? Your ideas are much better than the ones in the  cheezy book I bought on horse shoe projects a while back.Next time do the tacks on the back rather than the front. Or use tig to keep the welds as small and inconspicuous as possible. You can probably get away with retacking the back now, then carefully taking a die grinder or dremel tool to the ones on the front to reduce their profile. A bit of paint and you won't see them at all..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:die grinder is an awesome idea!  thanks!  i actually have one of those!  don't know why i didn't think of that right away.  get too close to a project i suppose and can't think straight.i had tried to lay it out upside down so i could weld it from the back, but it wouldn't stay together.  the profile of the shoes wouldn't let it stay in place so i had to weld it from the front.i think i'll do just like you said, weld on the back and die-grind the front.   i'll re-post with pics from a real camera when i get them all done.hopefully they will bring in a few bucks!  Must not be too shabby, I've already got about 4 orders from friends for the boot rack.i wish i could take credit for the designs, i stole them all from a google search
Reply:One other trick if you have to do a bunch of the horse shoe "stars". Take one shoe and make a "template" out of it using your existing one. Drill a large thru hole in the locations where the next one overlaps it. Then use that to lay out all your ones for the next set.When you go to weld them up, instead of just tacking the back, do a heavy plug weld in the hole you drilled in each one after you have it all tacked together. Probably won't need any visible welds that way. Save the "template" so you always know where to drill your holes in the future..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Get one of those Harbor Freight weed burner torches (currently on sale for $20.)  Then you can do the hot linseed oil treatment.Here's a nice horseshoe trivet... Attached ImagesLast edited by Oldendum; 02-10-2013 at 04:11 PM."USMCPOP" First-born son: KIA  Iraq 1/26/05Syncrowave 250 w/ Coolmate 3Dialarc 250, Idealarc 250SP-175 +Firepower TIG 160S (gave the TA 161 STL to the son)Lincwelder AC180C (1952)Victor & Smith O/A torchesMiller spot welder
Reply:how hot do i have to get the steel to turn it black?i've got an old BBQ grill that is doing nothing for me, would that get it hot enough?i think the star would look very cool with hot linseed oil finish.
Reply:Define "black"... If you are talking about getting the steel to scale, it has to be very hot. I'd have to look again, but up at least in the red to orange range minimum if not higher. 1500 F comes to mind as the temp the steel starts to scale at. Steel turns "blue" around 575F and "gray" at about 800F from what I remember about tempering colors.If you are talking about getting a "black" finish with hot wax, then it just needs to be hot enough to accept the wax. Like I mentioned earlier we'd get the steel hot enough to still be able to handle it with an old cotton rag. I'd say maybe 150 tops. If the weather is nice this week and no work pops up to interfere and I get to play with my forge, I'll try to remember to bring the IR thermometer with me and take a quick reading. No promises, I've been trying to do this for the last two weeks and every time I think I'll get to play either the weather turns crappy or I get some work to do.This might give you an idea on hot wax.http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/20...-bowling-alley.No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:when i read about finishing steel with hot linseed oil they all say to "heat the metal until it turns black" and then apply the linseed oil.when looking at the tempering colors, i wonder if "black" isn't just "grey" or "brown"i have my doubts on how it well an oil or wax finish would work with all of the mill scale anyway.  i saw a video on removing mill scale with 30% HCl, but i don't think i want to get into all of that.i think for he purposes at hand a rattle can will be just as pleasing ... i'm not gonna get to keep them anyway thanks for all the help!  encouraging to see that they might go over well.
Reply:With the forged stuff we'd wire brush off the heavy scale, but usually leave the normal mill scale that didn't come right off with a hand held wire brush. It helped keep the finish "even". If we had to do a lot of filing or sanding, those "shiny' places would tend to stick out. We'd either reheat to red to get the piece to scale some to hide that area some, or power wire wheel the scale to remove more of it before final finish.Simplest thing to do is to grabs some scrap and do a few "test" pieces so you get an idea what the finish looks like. get some smooth sanded or cold rolled as well as some with mill scale to note the differences.  For wax, you can use a lot of different things. I've picked up a nice chunk of pure bees wax, but plumbers wax for toilet seals is cheap and readily available as well as paste wax. In class the instructor cut the wax with a small bit of turpentine IIRC so you could brush it on to get into nooks and crannies as well as wipe it on with a rag easily..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:An easy rust finish I have used is vinegar in a spray bottle.  A few light coats outside where it can run off and it will rust immediatly.  I always clear coat it afterwards.  Muriatic Acid from the hardware store will take off the scale real quick but it can be a little nasty on the lungs!
Reply:If the rust is light and even, you can spray it with a satin polyurethane to keep the rust from getting on the boots.
Reply:You should buy yourself the weedburner or a small Mapp Torch kit for future projects.I like using Briwax since you can get some Color tones to show through on the steel. It won't be like staining wood, very subtle.You just need to get the steel hot- not red hot- and then dab on some of the wax.This was done with both Gun Blue and some BriwaxStarted out as shiny new sheet metal.Clear Coats- use lacquer, clear enamel and as a last resort polyurethane- poly tends to milk up after a while.http://www.homedepot.com/buy/rust-ol...l#.URlaUaVEAsoEd Conleyhttp://www.screamingbroccoli.com/MM252MM211 (Sold)Passport Plus & Spool gunLincoln SP135 Plus- (Gone to a good home)Klutch 120v Plasma cutterSO 2020 benderBeer in the fridge
Reply:sorry it took so long to get pics, but life has a way.as it turns out, im 35 and had to have heart surgery ... yeeah! so anyway, here's how they all turned out.boot rack got the "hammered bronze" rattle can job:cross-candle holder got the "aged iron" rattle can job:two things to note about the aged iron paint if anyone wants to try it.  the look is really neat, but it takes a LOT of paint to get coverage. you will need to use a primer, so use a GREY primer ... DON'T use red oxide, it is WAY too hard to cover.  Best used on small items as it took the entire can to cover the cross.more in next post:
Reply:I also painted the star with the hammered bronze paint, as well as some trivets i made.I'd pass on the cleated shoes as well.  they are just too troublesome to make into art.  I did find a design for a necklace hanger for which they would work, but for this kind of stuff they are just to hard to work with.  the trivets are not flat enough to actually use, IMO, but they would look good on a wall.so ... the boot rack seemed to go over well at the fundraiser. Haven't counted the money to see how we did, but i looks like it is better than a wash, so that's a good thing.  Had a few requests to make some boot racks just to sell, so i might explore that option.  I think once i get a jig set up, they won't bee too bad now that the learning curve is over.  We'll see.   hopefully the new owner likes her boot rack!
Reply:Another paint to think about for future projects is Rustoleum Textured black or grey. Here's a picture. It's the one on the left. Attached Images
Reply:What are those Bob, horseshoe slingshots?Meborder, I'll be interested to see that jewelry rack..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:The finish I use when I made 5 of these for all of my sisters-in-law was to wire wheel them until they look like pewter.  Then I hit the inside groove with a can of black spray paint.  Then I take a rag soaked with paint thinner or acetone and wipe down the outside of that groove.  This way, the bare metal keeps the pewter look and the inner grove is just black.After its dry, I hit both sides of the flower with Rustoleum clear coat, x2.  I like the more natural steel look of the horseshoes.Lincoln Power Mig 216Lincoln AC/DC-225/125Miller  625 X-Treme PlasmaMiller 211 Forney 95FI-A 301HF 91110Victor Journeyman O/PMilwaukee DaytonMakita  Baileigh NRA Life MemberNot quite a year later, but i finally got around to making the necklace holder.well, it was supposed to be a necklace holder, but i made the rod too short, so as my wife said, "its a bracelet holder"i made another star and a cross.i took some pics, but it's dark and they didn't turn out very well.  i might try to post up some better pics tomorrow as the paint actually turned out pretty well.