My college apartment was well maintained, but very old. It had steel railings up the exterior stairs and around the balconies, but after twenty years of flaking, being repainted, and spot repairs, it was common to grab hold of the railing and come away with a chunk of paint. They also had a tendency to dye the palms of your hands a very particular shade of green. And even with 25 years of paint layered onto the rails, the rust still managed to show through, turning them from a faded teal into a weirdly festive camouflage.

Even when continuous effort is put into maintenance, keeping a property looking nice is all about the details, especially when it's a large multi-family residential property. The apartment complex I lived in started out as a luxury residence for professionals. Twenty years later, it was home to low-rent college students, in large part because of management's inability to bring important details like railings and fences up to date. For large residential complexes and other properties of that scale, it's worth specifically seeking out durable, high-quality railings that don't painting.

Types of Railings for Residences and Residential Complexes

The original railing material for all buildings was always wood. Wood absorbs paint better than most building materials, making it fairly easy to get a smooth, even coat. This also makes it easier to change the entire look of a residence. But this versatility is also what requires constant maintenance: wood absorbs paint well because it absorbs everything well – including water. This means that wood requires regular repainting to keep it looking nice and to prevent rotting.

Wood can also be expensive to install in large residential buildings, since there isn’t a way to mass-produce preassembled wooden railings. That’s why the majority of wooden railings are in single family homes, or in add-on projects like railings for ADA compliant ramps.

The most common railings in residential complexes are metal ones, usually steel, but sometimes aluminum. Metal railings can be mass-produced, making them more affordable, and steel stands up better to the wear and tear that renters tend to put on their homes. The big drawback to steel, as far as aesthetics go, is that it’s not as easy to paint. At minimum, you’ll be required to use a coat of primer and then a coat of paint, and even then, the railing may not “take” the new paint well. This often results in patches coming off, which is what happened to my old apartment complex. Once paint starts peeling, the uneven surface allows water more places to collect, and the process of rusting will happen more quickly.

To avoid problems with rust, most steel made to be used outdoors is coated with zinc during galvanization. The issue with this is that this layer of galvanization comes off when the metal is heated, leaving welded joints exposed. When those welds rust, it creates a route to the interior of the metal. The rust bleeding through the paint at my college apartment complex was due to the railings being welded during installation, with the welds not receiving primer until afterward. To avoid this issue, look for preassembled, pre-welded railing systems that are galvanized after welding. Even better, look for preassembled systems that are protected by specialized coatings, rather than just galvanization and paint.

Powder Coated Steel Railings That Don’t Need Painting

If you’re looking for a railing material that doesn’t need to be painted, there are a few options. Wood, for instance, isn’t always painted. In fact, it’s the most common material left au naturale in private homes. This can, however, quickly turn it into a faded splintery mess that’s vulnerable to rotting. This makes metals the most structurally sound option. Yet, while metals may not need to be painted, they do generally need to be protected by a coating. Stainless steel doesn’t need to be painted or coated, and is strong structurally, but it is also expensive, and using it in the quantities a large apartment complex requires would be very costly. That leaves powder-coated metal railings as the most economical choice all around.

Powder coating is a process that coats a metal item in a fine, colored powder. When the item is heated, the powder melts and creates a uniform coating across the surface. This method has a number of advantages over traditional paint, including:

• Dry application means no runs or differences in thickness due to gravity pulling liquid downward. The initial powder is applied using an electrostatic spray that holds the powder to the metal with static electricity.
• A much stronger bond is formed between the metal and the powder paint than between metal and regular paint. This is due to the electrostatic application and the fact that the paint is then baked on to the metal.
• The coating is thicker than a layer of paint, which makes it even more resistant to scratching and other damage. This also provides greater protection against rust for steel railings.

A railing that has been galvanized after welding and given a high-quality powder coat is nearly rust-proof and chip-proof, which is ideal for any residence but especially for large residential complexes.           

Still, a powder coat all on its own isn't perfect. It does have very tiny pores that moisture can get through. That's why it's important that a railing receive galvanization or some other rust proofing after it is welded, to protect it beneath the coat of powder paint. Many of the railing system manufacturers I've run into talk about galvanized steel and powder coating, but they often don't treat the steel after welding, leaving the welds vulnerable.

One company that I know does treat their steel after welding is Fortress Building Products. Not only are their commercial steel railing systems galvanized and powder coated, they also receive an e-coat of electro-deposition material before the powder coat, to fill in all the crevices of the welds for complete rust proofing. It’s the kind of attention to detail that tells you that these products were built to look good for a long time--something my old college apartment’s railings definitely weren’t designed to do. Fortress Building Products' other product lines also provide long-lasting, low maintenance solutions, from slip-resistant composite decking for the pool area to high privacy estate fencing for building managers looking to upgrade their properties.