Last year, I built a custom outdoor kitchen setup for our patio—grill station, cabinets, the works. Looked amazing at first, but after just one winter, the metal parts started showing rust spots and discoloration. Pretty frustrating since I thought I'd chosen a decent coating. Anyway, after sanding and refinishing everything (ugh), I went with a different industrial-grade coating that was recommended by a friend who does metalwork professionally. It's held up great so far—no rust or fading yet—but I'm still kinda skeptical.
Curious if anyone else has had trouble finding a metal coating that genuinely holds up long-term outdoors. Did you eventually find something reliable or is it always gonna be trial and error?
I've had similar issues with metal flashing and trim on roofs. Honestly, prep seems just as important as the coating itself—cleaning thoroughly, sanding down to bare metal, then applying a good primer before the finish coat. Still experimenting myself though...
