re-glazing clawfoot tub

[letty]

When I contacted them here is what they had to say about it:

"Simply put, we use a SPR cleaners to get the porcelain super clean of all dirt, grime, rust, stains, discoloration...what ever is ingrained into your porcelain... we will remove it. Once that is finished, we apply a very light galactic clear coat that brings back the shine. It dries immediately and will never flake off or peel like painted tubs often do."

Once we get to that point in the work, we'll surely try to do a blog post about it.

That's great and all...but what if there are chips?

We have a great double drainboard farm sink that needs some work - do you think we could use this same service?

[Don M]

A kitchen sink takes a lot of abuse; I would be inclined to send it out to be restored with porcelain which is expensive but would make the sink new again.

[KristenS]

I have to say, that "an SPR cleaner" and a "galactic clear coat" sounds like complete bunk to me. Reminds me of the old Earl Scheib commercials.

[moonshadow317]

I refinished the outside of my tub myself. I scraped off all the loose paint with a scraper. At times I even used the heat gun. Then I brushed all the rusty areas with a metal brush. I primed it with a grey primer (meant for metal) Thenbrushed on 2 coats of black flat metal paint. The claw feet were done with artist oil paints, Five years later still good as new, As for the inside, I had a small bathroom sink stripped of its porcelian, then powdered coated and baked on. This was done several years ago. The cost was $300.00 and it was only that cheap because we took the sink there and picked it up. A large tub would be a lot more. So if the inside is not too bad I would live with it. I think that one of the folks here (Yinzermama) said that she use to wax her tub. I forget what she used but I'm guessing car wax. Also Barkeepers Friend cleans the inside pretty good.


Tub before


Tub after




This is the refinished sink

[melissakd]

I dunno whether the auto-body techniques would work, but I'd sure like someone to try it and report back. There aren't a whole lot of good options and this one sounds promising.

MelissaKD

[dpkmpy8]

I would steer clear of the bar keepers friend. It has abrasives in it, and they will slowly eat the glaze off the tub. Bon-Ami has the same cleansers in it, but no abrasives. You control the abrasiveness with what you scrub with, i.e. stiffness of the brush.

[melissakd]

Good tip. I'll stay away from the BKF for routine cleaning.

MKD

[Vaso7]

I Know I am repeating myself but the ONLY thing that cleaned my tub well were those "magic eraser" sponges. I tried everything before, including the above mentioned chemical with average results.

I would not worry a lot about the outside of the tub. I think sand blasting and just spray paint with appropriate oil paints would be enough. I personally do not see the need for powder coating. Of course if cost is not a problem go for it. I have seen a few tubs just striped and painted and they look very nice.

For the inside I opted not to do the refinish because I am not persuaded it will last. My tub is generally ok, only a couple of rough spots (missing enamel). There is a facility near by that "bakes" the finish but they only do sinks, no tubs so I gave up looking. I am going to wait to hear from OldTownHome for the galactic finish though.... Sounds great!

[catya]

LOL at "galactic" clear coat. Hope the OP will report back re results bc its a good idea - although if it peels its not going to look much better than a white finish that's peeling.

Re the outside of the tub, Rustoleum makes good products for rusty metal - all you have to do is remove scales wtih a wire brush, prime and paint.... 12 yrs later my rustoleum paint job looks as good as it did the day I did it. Unless you have a very wet or humid bathroom - you might if there's daily showers going on in there - it doesn't have to be a huge effort - IMHO.