So I climbed up on the ladder to get some pictures, and to see how badly damaged the top pieces are, since they're original to the house from 1922. They were made of heavy-gauge galvanized steel, but after 86 years of Minnesota weather, that's not necessarily meaningful.
OHDEARGODNOTTHEPOWERLINE!!!OMG!!!11!
Some inside detail of how it's put together and what needs fixing. That's a wood plug on the inside. Again, circa 1922.
More inside detail, this time looking the other way. Not sealed anymore.
That inside wall.
First brushing, a lot of loose paint, but that's some serious zinc. This piece is in pretty damn good shape.
Pieces like this worry me. I don't know how much integrity there is left in this piece, so I may have to fix a section.
Profile shot so I can repro it.
Problem is that it's hollow under the tops, and after many years, the tops are dented in a bit and they collect water. A repair needs to address that and fix it.
The top surface is pretty rusty, but it seems to be surface rust and brushes off well. I think that a brushing and pickling will kill off any rust, then a smackdown with some rust-killing primer will make for a win.
Before I get there, I need to take that shape and incorporate it into the architectural detail pieces of the porch. More CAD time.
Of course, I could really easily be convinced to have somebody else actually do the stripping, fixing, and painting of the trim pieces if I knew someone that I could trust to do the quality of work that I'd want without costing me a large chunk of change. It is work I can do myself, it's just a lot of tedious up-and-down ladder work, and I already have a lot of work I still need to do on the porch.
(sigh.)
Just add it to the list.