Does anyone have experience with rust paint being used in troughs?

[GrassChop]

The farm owner who I rent my paddocks from has painted the base of one of the troughs with SFixx 3 in 1 rust converter, primer and paint.

I have spoken to SFixx who have said that once cured, it is safe to refill the trough and won't be toxic.

I'm still a bit uneasy about this though. Does anyone have any experience with it? Is it safe?

Thank you.

 

[PurBee]

Ive just had a peek at their website and it’s a water-based paint, so that will cure much faster than oil based paints, as they off-gas for quite a while before being fully cured, despite being dry.

I understand your concerns though - waterbased paint still leaches fumes, hence the ‘new house paint smell’ despite the house being finished painting weeks before.

Is the farmer insisting your trough be painted?
If not, i wouldnt bother, providing the rust isn’t so advanced that it’s mixing with the water when refilled.

If i painted it, i’d wait for a dry spell of weather, allow it to fully air, off-gas and cure dry for 7 days un-used, then i’d fill it with water, let that soak for 48hrs, empty the water out, re-fill again for 48hrs, empty out, (i’d smell the water to assess if i can smell chemicals) if ok then 3rd re-fill allow animals to use.

While this is being done i’d give the animals trugs of water to use instead, and section off the trough so they dont have access to it while its curing/soaking.

 

[GrassChop]

Ive just had a peek at their website and it’s a water-based paint, so that will cure much faster than oil based paints, as they off-gas for quite a while before being fully cured, despite being dry.

I understand your concerns though - waterbased paint still leaches fumes, hence the ‘new house paint smell’ despite the house being finished painting weeks before.

Is the farmer insisting your trough be painted?
If not, i wouldnt bother, providing the rust isn’t so advanced that it’s mixing with the water when refilled.

If i painted it, i’d wait for a dry spell of weather, allow it to fully air, off-gas and cure dry for 7 days un-used, then i’d fill it with water, let that soak for 48hrs, empty the water out, re-fill again for 48hrs, empty out, (i’d smell the water to assess if i can smell chemicals) if ok then 3rd re-fill allow animals to use.

While this is being done i’d give the animals trugs of water to use instead, and section off the trough so they dont have access to it while its curing/soaking.

Thank you for this! It is much appreciated.

Unfortunately, they painted it before checking if it was safe or not but I have told them that I have spoken to Sfixx who have said it is fine once cured so I know they wanted to do a second coat and will likely be leaving it a couple of weeks before refilling so it will definitely be dry but it's unlikely it'll be filled and then refilled but I could always do that myself to be on the safe side, I think I'd feel a bit better about it that way! The rust was minimal but they're a very "prevention is key" type person as it means not spending out to replace something and make it last as long as humanly possible!

 

[PurBee]

Thank you for this! It is much appreciated.

Unfortunately, they painted it before checking if it was safe or not but I have told them that I have spoken to Sfixx who have said it is fine once cured so I know they wanted to do a second coat and will likely be leaving it a couple of weeks before refilling so it will definitely be dry but it's unlikely it'll be filled and then refilled but I could always do that myself to be on the safe side, I think I'd feel a bit better about it that way! The rust was minimal but they're a very "prevention is key" type person as it means not spending out to replace something and make it last as long as humanly possible!

I had a look at paints recommended for items in fish tanks, as many chemicals harm water-life, so if it doesnt kill fish its inert enough to use for other animals - and acrylic seems to be the most commonly thought safe type of paint for fish - which the SFixx is likely to be as its touch dry in 30 mins, and acrylic has become a very common paint chemical now due to its quick drying, and being far less toxic than oil-based paints.

Depending on the size of trough, the soak and empty part i mentioned could be done just once if its a large 100ltr+ trough. I had pictured in my head of those common cattle troughs half semi-circle long but narrow shaped troughs @80ltrs. Quicker to fill, soak and empty. But a large deep trough would have enough water to leach anything the paint wants to leach (if anything), so a once soak and empty with a bucket should suffice.

When i get new plastic-ware for horse water or feed bowls, i scrub and soak/empty just to enable any factory plastic residue to be leached-off, its a just in case thing. They all seem to have that plastic smell to them when new, so i do it to get rid of that.

 

[GrassChop]

I had a look at paints recommended for items in fish tanks, as many chemicals harm water-life, so if it doesnt kill fish its inert enough to use for other animals - and acrylic seems to be the most commonly thought safe type of paint for fish - which the SFixx is likely to be as its touch dry in 30 mins, and acrylic has become a very common paint chemical now due to its quick drying, and being far less toxic than oil-based paints.

Depending on the size of trough, the soak and empty part i mentioned could be done just once if its a large 100ltr+ trough. I had pictured in my head of those common cattle troughs half semi-circle long but narrow shaped troughs @80ltrs. Quicker to fill, soak and empty. But a large deep trough would have enough water to leach anything the paint wants to leach (if anything), so a once soak and empty with a bucket should suffice.

When i get new plastic-ware for horse water or feed bowls, i scrub and soak/empty just to enable any factory plastic residue to be leached-off, its a just in case thing. They all seem to have that plastic smell to them when new, so i do it to get rid of that.

Oh thank you, that is such a relief to know. I won't worry so much now!

It's either an 8ft or 10ft long rectangle trough so it would take a lot to empty fully and refill. Having said that, I could just take out a couple of buckets of water out for a few days and top it up to dilute anything down.

 

[PurBee]

Oh thank you, that is such a relief to know. I won't worry so much now!

It's either an 8ft or 10ft long rectangle trough so it would take a lot to empty fully and refill. Having said that, I could just take out a couple of buckets of water out for a few days and top it up to dilute anything down.

Oh wow, its a rather large trough then! Good idea to take a few buckets out to dilute anything.

These rust-converter paints are quite amazing really. Unlike hammerite which claims you can paint over rust and it wont come through, but it does…everytime! These rust converter paints chemically transform the rust, truly inhibiting its growth. We were looking at some oil-based types a while ago to use on a car chassis, it’s good to know there’s less toxic water-based versions about now

 

[PeterNatt]

Replace it with a Plastic Water Trough if you have any concerns. They are made by Paxtons.

 

[I'm Dun]

Oh thank you, that is such a relief to know. I won't worry so much now!

It's either an 8ft or 10ft long rectangle trough so it would take a lot to empty fully and refill. Having said that, I could just take out a couple of buckets of water out for a few days and top it up to dilute anything down.

You can get a 12v pump to work off a car battery for about £8 on amazon and it will empty the trough with no real work for you