Preservation of a piece - your advice please  

It's not the OCD so much, Tiny,
as it is the schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia, one of my...
Schizophrenia, one of my favorite SY songs....
I find it ironic that it all comes down to humidity for this stuff. Ironic because in another area of our house we grow orchids, and are constantly trying to maintain the highest humidity possible.
Humidity won't be a problem over the winter here so I feel much better now. I can have a plan in place by summers humid months.
The main worry with maintaining the piece or it's original finish isn't due to personal OCD but more so I have a list of things I eventually want to own - my nirvana list. So even though I get pieces I love and will keep, I want them to maintain the best condition possible for resale in case in the future I can trade up for my nirvana list pieces. Thats the long and short of it.
I will say my boyfriend is far more OCD than me on this stuff. I find not wearing my glasses makes me think everything looks just marvelous.
Thanks for all the helpful advice. I'm now going to watch Hoarders - as a demotivator to my collecting.
Maria
Ps
(also thanks for pointing out it truly being steel, I've always been taught to call the stuff wrought iron, so it's labeled forever in my brain every time I see black metal.)

It ain't the heat, it's the humility.
And it's not the humidity, it's the RELATIVE humidity.
I can't blame you for wanting to take care of your stuff. I've spent my entire career caring for museum collections and I like to tell people that we go to great trouble and expense to preserve these rare, valuable artifacts and objets so that future generations can decide that it's all junk and wonder: "what were they thinking?"
Really, though, Maria (or whomever), Spanky's right. Use it and enjoy your formed-steel furniture outdoors. When the brownish haze starts to form, abrade it with a wire brush, steel wool, sandpaper, or whatever, hit it with metal primer, and spray it black again. It's that simple.

Thanks TkToo
Thanks, advice I will take and follow. Your professional background gives added comfort.
To help clarify which one of us is posting, I'm trying to sign all my posts. Aaron started this thread and I, of course, joined in. I know it makes for unneeded confusion, so apologies. I might get my own screen name since I'm unable to resist yapping on here as regularly as he does.
This place has been a fantastic resource - years of questions and IDs for stuff has gushed forth since I joined. I don't mean to overwhelm the forums with it. I blindly collected from the ages of 15 to 27 (some crap, some good) then started getting serious about it. Then I bought my first home last year and ive going a bit crazy filling it. I will eventually calm down or....... be forced to buy a bigger house.
Maria

Isn't that what
the radio announcer moaned while watching the Hindenberg crash and burn:
"Oh, the humidity . . .!!"

Hindenburg? Humanity?
- Maria

So here's what I've learned from this thread...
1. Use your furniture outside.
2. If it gets damaged by the elements, send it to Modernesia when you get ready to sell it. It will retain it's original, shimmering coat by the time he gets done with it.
3. Silk orchids do not require high humidity so it's ok to keep steel furniture in the house if you choose to.
4. You can put your banana in a Banana Bunker unless you have an allergy to latex. Try the sheep intestine Banana Bunker instead.
5. Somewhere in Arizona there's a storage unit full of cool shit in great condition. I feel a road trip coming on.
6. We love Tinyarmada - keep on posting.
Feel free to add what you've learned today!

Good idea...
7. Steel is not iron. (-;

8.
Rust never sleeps.

9. Use what you love
9. Use what you love

10. When you die, take your...
10. When you die, take your furniture with you.
-m