My 1960's rancher has the original metal (steel, I assume) porch posts and railings, which have some surface rust and needs attention. You've seen these railings before -- boring black scrollwork that was all the rage. I am reaching out to 3 local metalwork companies for quotes on restoring the railings now with sandblasting and powdercoating. The second option is manual rust removal and painting, either DIY or paying a pro. Is there another restoration option I should be considering?

mattw22, thanks for the info. I looked at the Premier again this weekend and I definitely like their finish the best. Were you doing a deck or a porch? My railings will come out 3 feet from the house and then go 7 feet down my brick stairs. I think I will use the ball post cap since it's what I have now and is the most traditional - which one did you use? I saw that they now offer the 6 in. post as well as the 4 in. so now I have to make another decision!

Timber Tech sells a 1/2'' x 12' facia board that could be fastened into a 6' post wrap. J.

I have 2 Juliet porches 8' x 4' on my upper floor with pressure treated wood railing that requires yearly scraping and restaining, and I'd like to switch to low maintenance materials. I'm not keen on the all vinyl look. I want to mix things up a little. Here is my plan: Sleeve the 4x4 posts in Menards Ultradeck in Cedar color, using their matching caps and base trim, Then use DecKorators Rail hangers to hang natural cedar 2x4 cross rails (stained to match) Cap the upper 2x4 with Trex Transcend decking in Tiki Torch, install DecKorators aluminum balusters. The picture above will be the final look somewhat. Seems simple, any suggestions/problems with my plan?