Side table

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Though I guess it's not really a SIDE table anymore...A while back I made some pretty generic side tables for our new house, but as our living room evolved they didn't really fit in. So, I hacked apart the old frame and made a new one. Modifying the old table probably took as much or more time than just building from scratch again, since some of the tube ends were hidden in the first table and needed to be filled in this one, but whatever.The top is a piece of aluminum from the scrap yard, and the frame is just standard steel. I ground/polished everything...sort of. I spent a lot of time grinding and sanding and polishing, but at some point I just said "screw it" and finished. It takes way too long to get everything smooth! I was originally just going to paint it but the wife liked the idea of bare metal so it was mostly just as an experiment. I know that eventually it might start rusting, but it's pretty dry here in Colorado and I rubbed some paste wax on it, so maybe that might delay the rusting process.The top is just riveted on. I had tried thinking of ways of attaching it without having to drill through the top but all of the ideas required brazing...which I probably could have done if I wasn't lazy and looked up how to do so properly and what rods I need, but when I practiced on some scraps with the brazing rod I did have and it failed miserably. They were probably the wrong rods, the aluminum ended up melting, and it became this weird sticky melty goop, heh.I still have another one to make, and it would be nice it they matched, but I really don't want to have to do all that grinding again...painting is just SO much faster. Or maybe I just don't know the right techniques and tools to use to get that polished finish...oh well.Sorry for the blurry pic...I was taking the pictures when my phone somehow said 0% battery life, so these two were all I got before it realized what 0% means and died!Cheers! - Ian Attached Images
Reply:Thats a nice cocktail lounge.  As for the rust, why dont you clear coat it?  Or, borrow your wifes hairspray and coat it.  I recently found some nail polish in my bathroom, thought it was my girlfriends but she said my daughter left it. Its in the garage now and I already used it to prep threads for Loctite. It saiz acetone on the bottle and they want $10 for a small can at the auto store. My GF also told me I could get it at the Dollar store for a dollar.
Reply:Originally Posted by InsanerideAs for the rust, why dont you clear coat it?
Reply:You could get some spider web rusting under the clear powder coating if the table were exposed to radical temperature changes if used outside. You could get condensation under the clear. But used indoors, you'll have non of that. Any clear coat will want somee type of tooth to cling to. Like a brushed texture. But again, being a dainty interior side table, you'll probably be fine. Production pieces of furniture like yours will be polished SS or chrome plated. No company would highly polish carbon steel then clear coat it.
Reply:Rustoleum spray can type clear (gloss) from Lowes/Depot will work fine.  ...as long as it stays indoors and out of the sun's UV light.   I've been using the spray can clear coat on polished steel for years.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 Member
Reply:Originally Posted by ian1386Anybody else know if the "rust under clearcoat" thing is true?