On one job where a full length seal weld would warp the frame we used a
paintable silicon caulking. Any quality paintable caulking should do the
trick. Some are rated for 20 years plus in outdoor conditions.
If water collects in a crack it will bleed rust marks in the future.
Randy

wrote in message
ups.com...
I am assembiling a "wrought iron" fence which I have 1/2 square stock
going through two punched railes. The picket sets flush witht the
bottom rail and extends 4 inches through the top rail. I have been
doing a decent job gaining some welding skills by welding the picket to
the underside of the bottom rails. Since the bottom of the bottom rail
is is within 2 inches of the ground I am just laying down my best weld
and grinding it down if needed. For the top rail I have been tacking
it to picket on the underside of the rail

My concern is that there the punched rail hole is slightly larger then
the picket size. Most of the picket sit really tight into the top rail
however some have a small gap around the rail, one that I think will be
too big to get filled by the paint. I dont want water to be able to
leak down into this gap. My welding skill are not to the point where I
think I can make a good looking weld around the top of the picket.
Well I can make a decent weld but because the pickets are only 4 inches
apart it is tough for me to get a grinder in there and clean them up.

Is there anything I can use to fill in this gap? In most cases I would
figure it is no bigger then a 1/16 of an inch or so. Basically it is
just outside what I think could be filled easily by paint. I thought
of using body filler but thought that was kinda lame and was wondering
if there was a better solution.