paint metal before putting in concrete?

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Philphine

don't give him tools!!!
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just an idea i've had for a while. i have a 3/4" piece of axel shaft bent into a candy cane shape with a couple of smaller pieces welded to it. i mean to put in in the ground by my back door to lock my motorcycle up when i don't feel like putting it in the garage and/or i know i'll be right back on it the next day.

just wondering if i'd get anything out of painting it before i do this? i know what's sticking out of the ground will rust eventually, but i was thinking the concrete affects the metal that's stuck in it in some way? anyone know? thanks.
 
You could paint multiple light coats with Rustoleum as a protectant. Moisture will eventually get into the metal so you could add a complete covering with pipe wrap tape. This will help seal the shaft from moisture, which would then encounter the paint.
 
Steel in concrete is not the problem, it's when the dteel extends out of the concrete and rusts, the rust will work it's way down into the concrete and when it expands will break the concrete. This would take years. You can buy epoxy coated rebar so maybe you could look at some paint along those lines.
 
Why even bother with the axle. Just get a couple of bags of redimix and a galvanized eye bolt. Dig a square hole and bury the whole thing including the eyebolt so it's not a trip hazard and run a short piece of galvanized chain, covered with an old innertube to protect your paint job.
It will be there when you need it and not there when you don't.
 
an eye bolt was the original idea, but i looked in the scrap metal box at work and saw the shaft, so i went with it.

to make a short story long, it's an idea from last spring/summer that just came back to me after needing to leave a bike in my outdoor parking spot for about a week.

we were doing some brainstorming on a motorcycle forum for someone without a garage. one idea was burying a hook in the ground to lock to. i figured i'd try it, and picked what i think is a good spot (where i park a bike sometimes anyway as mentioned. also near the wall so i don't think it'll get tripped over, and happens to be near an outside outlet. had the trickle charger hooked up while it sat there). but i never got around to doing it.

fast forward to now. a couple things fell together for me (this is the time of year for motorcycle deals) and i got a new bike, but i needed to make a spot in the garage for it (yes my garage is that bad). however, it got so cold the next day (and i caught a cold a couple days later), i let it sit there for about a week and a half.

really, i haven't had any trouble parking a bike there a few nights during riding season, but it occurred to me that i'd be able to lock it there if i had gotten the hook. so i started looking for what to use and saw the shaft in the scrap box.

except for not being galvanised, i feel like i made a nicer anchor than i could have afforded, but i figured i'd ask about painting or prep of some kind before i actually stick it in the ground.

edit for pic:

exteriors001_zpsf939b60f.jpg


only about the top 4" would be above ground.
 
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The steel in the concrete generally won't rust since there is no oxygen. It needs oxygen and moisture to rust. You can paint the part coming out or have it galvanized. If you do a few coats of quality paint before you put it in I'm sure it will be fine for years to come.
 
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