Have you noticed how popular the look of rust is? Especially in today’s lawn ornaments, it’s getting lots of attention from otherwise meticulous people. This article isn’t about encouraging an increase of rust in your life, but to explain why it happens and how – if you are really interested – you can “rust” your own steel.

The popular rusted look has a definition: it’s got to be a well-rusted look, not just a poorly maintained appearance. Sounds a little contradictory, right? Let’s try to explain: it’s the difference between a continuous coat of the red stuff (a well-rusted look) and the occasional spot (poor maintenance). So what causes rust in the first place?

Steel, as we know, is very durable. It’s made from iron and various combinations of other elements. Since iron isn’t very strong on its own, these other elements are added to strengthen it and make it into steel which, as we all know, is pretty darn strong, even with a little rust.

But the problem is with the iron. Once iron interacts with oxygen it begins forming rust, and rust weakens metals. Some of the elements added to steel slow down the rusting process, but don’t stop it completely.

(Stainless steel’s a little different. Its added elements react with oxygen to form a sort of film, or shield, over the surface to keep oxygen out. But it’s more expensive than regular steel.)

Oxygen is the key to rust. So if we want to “rust” something up, we just have to introduce oxygen, right? But isn’t that the stuff all around us that we breathe? Yup, it is. So if it’s already here we want to speed up the process to grow rust faster that the natural rate, right?

Let’s look at growing your own rust. There’s a product on the market that’s made to etch metal – you can find it at your local hardware store. Soak the steel in the metal etch solution for a few hours, rinse it and soak it in vinegar overnight. Next step is to rinse again and soak overnight in hot salt water. After that let it dry and occasionally spray it with water to encourage the rust. Voila – rust!

Or here’s another option. If you’re looking to remove the shine from your steel and give it a darkened, antique look you can soak it in hot orange or lemon juice. The advantage to this method is it darkens the steel but actually creates a film to inhibit rust!

But you say you don’t want rust – in fact, want to save your steel from it? Let’s take a tip from the pros. After steel is manufactured, it’s oiled down before it’s shipped out. The oil coating inhibits rusting while it’s in transit and waiting to be used. So if you want to prevent rust, just do what the manufacturers do: oil down your steel. It doesn’t take much – just put some on a rag and rub in on the surfaces of your steel object. Maintenance is no problem either: you can touch it up every year or so.

So . . . it doesn’t matter if you love it or hate it, you can control the rust in your life. If only you could decide whether you want it or not!