I get this question at least twice a week. Usually from someone who bought iron lights three years ago and is now looking for replacements.
Here's the honest answer — from people who have spent 35 years watching what actually happens to both materials once they're outside, season after season, monsoon after monsoon.
Why iron lights fail
Iron is strong. But iron oxidises the moment moisture reaches it, and outdoor lights deal with moisture constantly — monsoon rain, morning dew, hosepipe cleaning, coastal salt air. The first year, an iron light looks fine. The powder coating holds. By year two or three, you start to see orange stains running down the pillar below the fitting. By year five, the rusting is structural.
The powder coating that was applied to "protect" the iron actually traps moisture inside once it starts to crack or chip. At that point, the light is rusting from the inside — and there is nothing you can do short of replacing it.
Why aluminium doesn't
Aluminium is naturally corrosion-resistant. It doesn't need a coating to survive outdoors — the coating on our lights is cosmetic, not a protective barrier. Even if the finish chips after years of UV exposure, the aluminium underneath does not rust. It oxidises very mildly on the surface, forming a stable layer that actually protects further.
This is why we've worked in cast aluminium since we started in 1990. Not because it's fashionable. Because it's what lasts.
The cost comparison, honestly
An aluminium gate light costs more upfront than an equivalent iron fitting. The difference is typically 20 to 40 percent. Over ten years, however, the calculation looks completely different.
One aluminium light that runs for fifteen to twenty years, versus two or three iron replacements over the same period — plus the labour cost of removal and reinstallation each time, plus the rust stains on your pillar that need repainting. The aluminium pays for itself before the second monsoon.
What to check when buying "cast aluminium"
This matters: "cast aluminium" is sometimes used as a label for aluminium sheet lights — fabricated from thin aluminium sheet, not cast in a mould. These are lighter, thinner, and far less durable. They look similar in a catalogue photograph.
Real cast aluminium has weight. Pick it up — it should feel solid. The details (finials, scrollwork, lattice, grilles) should have crisp, clean edges, not pressed curves. If a gate light weighs almost nothing, it is probably not cast aluminium in the traditional sense.
Our lights are sand-cast by hand in our Aligarh workshop. That process is what gives them the weight and detail that no sheet fabrication can replicate.
"Rust doesn't announce itself. It works quietly — and by the time you notice, the damage is already done."
If you're comparing options and aren't sure what you're looking at, send us a photo. We'll tell you exactly what it is.