My house has old Edwardian cast iron gutters and down pipes that are quite rusty, what can I do to protect them from further deterioration?  

(J Whelan Glasnevin)


Yes, remove all debris and clean them as best you can. A power washer would be ideal to shift the old ground in dirt. If you don’t own a power washer, you can rent one in your local hire shop for a few quid a day. 


After the gutters have dried fully, get your hands on some that old ever-useful Owatrol oil and a can of exterior quality oil based gloss paint, whichever colour you choose. 

Mix them up half owatrol and half paint, and apply directly to the rusted gutters with an appropriate paint brush. For your information this mixture will do two things at the same time, i.e. it will penetrate deeply into the rusty steel, getting into all the small nooks and crannies, pushing out any remaining moisture and air while giving it colour at the same time. The above technique also works great on rusted railings, gates etc. 

This Owatrol oil and paint mixture makes a solid colour oil based stain that works great on wood, concrete etc.

If you have any difficulty obtaining Owatrol oil you may phone a customer service number 087 245 6078 but it is not as difficult to get as it used to be it seems!