What paint to use on rails?

dont. it will wear off.

your school has boxes and rails?

they already have red paint on them and it hasnt worn off too much

oh and yeah i wouldnt paint it

yeah they were donated by one of the graduating classes

cool. anyway personally i wouldnt paint it, if anything i'd just smooth it down really well, maybe throw some grease or whatever on it. i think painting it will just lead to more problems

Wire wheel it.  Get all the existing paint off it/rust and burs as well.  Then use rust-oleum.  This will protect the rails a ton.  Normally gets rubbed off the sliding surface but helps the rails stay healthy throughout the season.

We'll try this. I spent 3 hours last year cleaning the rails and removing rust. It would be nice for that work to last a little more than a few months.

However a paint to coat them with would be excellent, something that is just enough to coat them but won't become sticky. The designer of the rails used mild steel so they are subject to wear and tear of that nice wet vermont weather.

Any more help would be appreciated! Good thinking on making this thread Asa.

can i paint over the existing paint on the body of the rail without it chipping but clean off the paint of the actual rail part?

you would have to sand the rails existing paint,not complety off but the sand scraches will give the new pain something to hold on to and keep the rail from chip down the road.dont use any sandpaper under 400 grit sand paper cuz you will see the sand scraches after you paint the rail just use 400 grit cuz if you use 1500grit the paint wont stick, if there are any paint chips try to feather them out with the sand paper, just run your finger over the chip and you will feal the paint edge just sand that till its smooth. when your all done sanding wipe the rail clean with a damp rag but go over it with a dry rag so the rail is dry for paint.use real light coats of paint and let it cure take your time letting it dry, lights coats and letting it dry will prevent chips.it may be a good idea if you dont do as may coats where your going to be sliding just get it coverd on top. im an auto painter so if you need anything else just PM me.

i would use rust-oleum this way you dont need to prim it and its really good on preventing rust. i use rust-oleum when i graffiti it lays out well & covers good too and the caps they have on them are really nice to work with