The steel. The finish. Your choice.
We left the paint off on purpose.
You don’t have to keep your fire pit looking brand-new to enjoy owning it. Keep it dark. Let it weather.
By Edge Right · Choosing your fire pit
You’re going to drop logs into it. Leave it out in the weather. Use it.
We chose unpainted steel so keeping a factory paint finish pristine isn’t part of the deal. Its appearance can change as it becomes part of your yard.
You get a say in how that looks.
Two looks. The same starting point.
Keep it dark.
Like the dark finish of a seasoned skillet? Occasional seasoning helps maintain that look on the outside of the fire pit. It’s a finish you can refresh as needed.
Let it weather.
Prefer a warm brown that sits comfortably beside stone, wood, and planting? Bare steel develops that appearance outdoors. The color varies with exposure and use.
Illustrative finish examples; color varies with use and exposure.
Paint has limits around a fire.
Even paint sold for high heat comes with conditions. Rust-Oleum, for example, excludes direct flame contact and fire-pit interiors from its High Heat products. A heat rating alone doesn’t tell you where a coating belongs.
Our approach is straightforward: unpainted plate steel, with no painted coating to keep touched up. The finish comes from the steel and how you choose to care for it.
The substance is in the steel.
Campfire starts with 3/16-inch hot-rolled steel. Bonfire starts with 1/4-inch. That thickness matters whether you prefer a dark finish or a weathered one.
A change in surface color is not the same thing as a panel wearing through. As corrosion removes metal, a thicker panel of the same material has more steel to lose under comparable conditions.
Both fire pits use A1011 plate, a different steel from our COR-TEN edging. The brown appearance is oxidation, and basic care still matters whichever look you choose.
A little thought before the first fire.
Pick an outdoor location on a suitable noncombustible surface, with the clearances required locally. Bare steel can transfer color onto light paving, especially after rain. Consider that runoff before choosing its spot.
Once the fire and ash are completely cold, clear out the ash and let the pit drain and dry. If you prefer the darker look, refresh the seasoning as needed and follow the application and handling instructions for the oil you use. Keep oil away from flames, and never leave oily rags piled together.
Choose the finish you like. Leave room for it to look used.
Material references: Rust-Oleum’s guidance on fire pits and High Heat paint; the Canadian Conservation Institute on iron corrosion.
Behind the build: We could hear where we’d saved money.