Refinishing a clawfoot tub

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

Quote:
This! We had one in our old house I redid the outside and left the inside as it was.

DH brought home a cast off one and wanted to redo it for this house...... a few years of research later it is now a garden tub! He dug a hole, lined it with stone and put the tub in. We fill it during the summer - both kids and dog swim in it, DH has actually bathed in it!

He loves it after working outside in the summer to get a rinse before coming in.....

 

[snewman]

Thank you for all of the good information. The outside definitely needs to be redone, which sounds like I can do it. It looks like it just was painted with a primer at some point and never finished. The inside I will have to take a look at more carefully, it might just need a good cleaning. It was in the house when we bought it, in a room with no actual plumbing, just a collection tank and a drain out the side of the house. Even the previous owner had never heard of it being used, and her husband grew up in the house. They used that room for storage. We turned that room into a guest room and moved the tub to the barn, where it's been sitting ever since. We're starting our bathroom remodel now. The tub won't get a ton of use, as we are planning a big fancy shower stall as well, which will see the daily use. I figure once a week at most. Maybe more if we ever have kids, but there's a tub/shower in the existing bathroom as well. Hmmm. Gives me food for thought, thanks again!

 

[al6517]

I am a professional contractor with my own building co, if you want good results go to a pro. I love these so called DIY projects that make you think you can do these types of projects yourself, and when it goes horribly wrong real fast, now you call a pro and are just flabbergasted at the cost to fix your mistakes, DIY projects gone bad are a boon to my business LOL. WTS I own a tub and tile refinishing franchise and when called can come out and most tubs like what you have in less than 4 hrs with products that will last for yrs & yrs contrary to the folks who pretend to know what they are talking about. I don't know what you consider exspensive $$ but I charge $189.00 to do a complete tub total done deal in 4 hrs, if that is too exspensive perhaps you should consider installing a galvanized wash tub like the ones the cowboys use.

In all honesty please just call a pro and get it done right, I love those old clawfoots and really would like to see your tub come out great so don't scrimp on this one. You can PM me if you like and I would be happy to guide you in your quest.

AL

 

[darkmatter]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub_Madonna

 

[snewman]

Wow! I would gladly pay $189 to have my tub done. Wish you didn't live so far away. Any thoughts about people in Wisconsin who might be able to do this? A friend of mine had her tub done and it was hundreds of dollars, approaching $1000.


I got a chuckle out of the bathtub Madonna. Just doesn't quite fit in with my decorating style

 

[al6517]

Quote:
Sorry about not having much info on contractors that far north from me, plus there just aren't many of us out there, I am the only contractor for this in a 400 mile area, and that's why I added this segment to my business the demand is huge and nobody's doing it. since I started I have done whole hospital bldg's, schools, nursing homes and military bases, and they get an even greater rate reduction for the numbers. The main difference is as a commercial refinisher we have access to the proper professional equipment and the state of the art coatings and even though the application equipment cost Thousands of dollars, and training even more you can't try and get it all back at one time LOL.

I have since branched out into refinishing appliances, sinks, tile, countertops, and most other durable surfaces.

AL

 

[Royd]

Quote:
Sorry about not having much info on contractors that far north from me, plus there just aren't many of us out there, I am the only contractor for this in a 400 mile area, and that's why I added this segment to my business the demand is huge and nobody's doing it. since I started I have done whole hospital bldg's, schools, nursing homes and military bases, and they get an even greater rate reduction for the numbers. The main difference is as a commercial refinisher we have access to the proper professional equipment and the state of the art coatings and even though the application equipment cost Thousands of dollars, and training even more you can't try and get it all back at one time LOL.

I have since branched out into refinishing appliances, sinks, tile, countertops, and most other durable surfaces.

AL

Tell us about your process, because, obviously, it's not reenamelled.

 

[True Grit]

I had a grey bathtub in my old 1950 ranch style so after I replaced the toilet and sink with white porcelain, a local contractor recoated my tub inside and the side facing out with some white enamel-like substance and as I recall, it cost about $300. It didn't get a lot of use but it looked great and saved tearing out a wall to remove the old tub. It also felt like enamel, sorry I can't tell you what it was.

 

[al6517]

Royd : In a nut shell I use a special sprayer know as an LPHO ( Low Presure High Output ) I shoot at about 4 PSI, I use a special epoxy based resin that can lay on very thick, harden in minutes then reapplied moments later until the desired thickness is acheived. I of course have to do some prep with other special chemicals so bonding is good and permanant without any mishaps. I also use custom designed air flow ventilation machines so the house doesn't smell bad for very long, curing time is 4 hrs to the touch and 24 hrs before full use, comes in many colors and we can even add custom things like gripper bottoms and new drains and such.

I hope that answers your question.

AL

 

[Royd]

Quote:
Yeah, I figured it was a complicated process...I'm sure the sprayer is the key to the whole process....I've seen some of the "professional " refinishing, and it looks wonky, at best. Just not the smoothness of factory enamel.