The Malaysian cold-rolling steel industry generates over 1800 tons of iron oxide waste annually. The waste is classified as scheduled waste (SW106) by the Malaysian Department of Environment (DoE) due to the hazardous characteristics of its leachate. Consequently, disposing of iron oxide solid waste involves considerable cost. In this study, EDX and ICP-OES were employed to determine the chemical composition of the iron oxide waste. The concentrations of Hg, Cd, Cr, Pb, and As in the waste samples were recorded before utilising a rod mill for 24 h to grind them into ultra-fine powder. The product was then mixed with industrial-grade red pigment in various ratios. Seven samples were prepared, applied onto a canvas, and analysed with a colourmeter. The colour of the samples was described per the coordinates L*a*b* from CIELAB colour space. The results demonstrated that the pigments from the waste samples were suitable for roof tiles. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was also employed to characterise the as-prepared red oxide phase of the samples, while particle size was determined with a nanoparticle size analyser (NPSA). The results revealed that iron oxide waste is convertible to industrial-grade red pigment material as it has over 88% purity. The prepared sample was found to be a hematite with rhombohedral crystal structures. The ICP-OES results demonstrated that the heavy metal concentrations significantly decreased after conversion.