" wrote in
message ups.com...
The electrical (steel pole) going to the electric meter on the side of
my house looks really bad. It's gotten pretty rusty over the years.
The wires come in at the top above the overhang and I plan on staying
really far away from that part. The question I have is for the rest
of the pole below the overhang and above the meter. What is the best
way to paint it? I was planning on sanding it down wipe it clean and
then use rustoleum primer and then paint. Is this the best way to
paint it?

That would be about how most people do it. Having said that- if the pipe to
the weather head is looking bad, probably be a good idea to take the
bird-watching binoculars and stare at the weather-head and the condition of
your service drop. If the weather seal where the wires poke out of the
upside-down-J thing has stuff hanging from it, or if the wires themselves
have visible shiny spots or shreds of insulation hanging off, time to call
power company to come look at it. Everything upstream of meter is their
problem, and they may change it all out down to the meter base free or at a
reduced cost. They would rather fix this stuff in sunshine on a slow summer
day, than at 2 in the morning in January, when an ice fall takes it down. If
they don't change the actual weather heads themselves (some do, some don't),
they will point you to an electrician that does.

aem sends...