Ornamental Iron Gates

Ornamental Iron Gates Over the years, AutoGate Systems, Inc. has built steel gates using conventional steel shapes such as tubing, solid bar stock and channels. Experience has shown that utilizing the rigid strength of steel tube for the frame or at least for the hinge-side upright and bottom horizontal members, and using solid bar stock for the intermediates and perhaps the sweeping tops, (so common in iron gates), makes for the best overall job. The tubing provides the stiffness to overcome whip, which is common in steel bar framework. Solid bar intermediates (pickets) can be formed, forged or twisted into almost any shape. There is some fine architectural forge work available that we buy in component form which produces an elegant iron gate at a reasonable cost. Steel is probably the most versatile and surely the strongest material to work with, either as the sub-structure of wood or aluminum, or on its own.We prefer a natural iron finish on ornamental gates, which requires a three-step process: -The completed panel is sandblasted to remove all mill scale, weld spatter, etc -The panel is acid washed, then rinsed, several times -Acrylic clear-coat is applied, several coats in thickness, to preserve the finish Of course, iron gates can be painted as well, but the proper job requires sandblasting beforehand. It should be noted that all steelwork discussed here, whether structural or ornamental (painted) is epoxy coated after fabrication using the following process: Sandblasting or chemical cleaning/etching Applied epoxy: DeVoe Bar-rust 235 primer Marine Coating Applied epoxy: DeVoe Devran 229 top coat Marine Coating This product is expensive, but has proven itself in saltwater marine use on commercial steel ships, buoys, Mil spec. etc. All steel work is coated in the shop, after fabrication. In the event of any on-site welding, drilling or repairs, the process can be mixed i n the shop and applied in the field. Conventional red metal primer used by most metal shops is grossly inadequate for exposed steelwork. In modern paint formulas, the only metal found in red metal primer is the container itself.