Prepping the Pipes

Once we got the pipes home, they had to be prepped for assembly. During our time at Lowes, I'd discovered iron pipes leave a black, sooty residue on your hands. So, I did a little research to figure out how to treat them to prevent any further "shedding". Some bloggers recommended using steel wool to scrape the pipes, which would eliminate the residue and allow paint to adhere to the pipes more easily. Others recommended simply washing the pipes with water and dish soap, claiming that this would be enough to clean off any grease and soot. Being prone to laziness, I decided to go with Method #2.

And vwah-la!  I had pretty, shiny, CLEAN pipes!

I would make a few warnings though:

1) While cleaning the pipes went smoothly, several of the longer pipes (pic #2) were wrapped with labels/clear tape. Fortunately, Special Goo-Be-Gone solution isn't necessary. The glue will come off after some persistant rubbing under warm water. You just need to exercise patience -- not always my strongest suit.

2) After washing the pipes, make sure you dry them off thoroughly with a towel before letting them sit to air dry. I missed a few droplets of water, which earned me some small, albiet noticeable, rust spots.

3) Lastly, I have yet to spray paint the pipes, which may make the "lazy" way actually the harder way, but I'll keep you updated. Spray painting should happen this weekend.