When Blue Eyes arrived, he (or is it she?) lived up to his name. The “eyes” in the rusty metal were indeed blue, albeit a deeper and less florescent hue than today. Over time, rust creeped, blue fled and Blue Eyes became Rust Eyes.
We don’t know if the piece’s artist, Vern Peasenell, would approve, but it’s our sculpture now. Hopefully he won’t mind a bit of restoration.
This paint is interior latex, not designed to go over rusty metal or even resist the outdoor elements. If all goes well, it will weather with time, maybe fade unevenly, peel a bit and generally look like it belongs on a rusty piece of metal turned into art.