I grabbed a few different sanding attachments to chip away at these relatively good condition milk cans. The sander attached to the drill was the most flexible, but didn’t have much bite. It was better for smoothing the rough painted areas and getting into the curved sections than for taking off the layers. The black chunky one below the drill had some nice sanding power. The wire brush took off the paint quickly but didn’t cover quite enough area for my liking. I also grabbed a buffer pad and some paper towels to wipe away the build up of powdered rust.

The best bet is to sand down to the metal, trying to remove all traces of rust, probably while wearing a face mask in case there are lead based paints present. After a good long while there is noticeable progress. Then it is time to brush away the rust and throw down some sort of rust-stopper paint. So far I have stuck with Rust-oleum spray paint for all my metal projects but there are alternative products and a variety of colors if you’d like a base color other than black. After all the priming then it’s time for the oils or acrylics and then the real fun begins.

*Follow up* – Shortly after finishing this process I realized it’s also an option to make an inquiry to a car garage to see if they would sandblast it for you or find a way to acquire a sandblaster for yourself through borrowing, renting or buying.  I am going to try this option for the next saw blade I paint. It sounds faster and less dusty.