My mom has an older house with a cast iron bathtub that is showing it's age. I know there are commercial refinishers that can do the job but are any of the home user products any good? Even if we got 5 years out of it that would be better than what she has now and a bathroom refit is not going to happen anytime soon.
thanks
I did my bathtub about 5 years ago with the 2 part epoxy that is sold at Lowes and HD. It lasted about 4 years before it started peeling off again. I am going to try to have it redone by a company called the miraclemethod. We will see how long it lasts this time. They told me typically 10 - 15 years with this method.
I bought the same 2 part epoxy finish at Lowes. Worked out rather well. finished out well enough to wax and shined like a new car. I don't know how long it lasted, but it was the hardest finish I've ever seen. I shot it on with a spray gun. I left the compressor outside and ran a long hose into the house. Make sure your bathroom is well ventilated. I used a box fan in the door-way and a full-face respirator mask. I got paid well for my effort :-)
Tom in KY, If you're looking for a temporary fix, this is pretty good.
I agree if I had to do it again I would consider spraying it. I think it is all in the prep as my finish is very hard too, just did not bond well to the tub.
LJ
>beautiful results follow all directions carefully. at home depot ask near the paint dept. read preparation of surface, also buy the cleaner they recommend, and do not rush the drying times. then you'll be shopping for new fixture and bar of soap holder/overflow for your clawfoot. as well as stripping and sanding and refinishing the rusty exterior of the tub with metal primer and finish. don't forget the new paint job, cable tv with remote, new radio, new towel cupboard.
Using the proper products (usually 2 part epoxy) and doing a perfect prep job, five years is a good estimate. However any error on the prep work and it will be a far shorter life. The prep work is involved and will take a fair among of hard work.
The real drawback of a DIY job as I see it is the likelihood that your job will make any future repair attempts more difficult and or compromise the life of any future job.
Price out the cost of a commercial job and then make your decision. They have the experience and tools to do a better job than you can.
I used the two-part epoxy stuff on a plain, white, porcelain-covered, steel tub.
I was amazed at how well the material leveled out, and how it was even whiter than the original finish (didn't do the whole tub).
But my prep wasn't good enough, and some has peeled off, and once I actually cut my foot on a peeling edge. And the chips and peels coming off can clog a drain pipe fast and permanently.
The biggest dissapointment was the color. At one year, it looked about the same as the original. At two years, a little yellower than the original. At five years, quite noticeably yellower, and I'm going to replace the tub.
Yep,
I used a random orbit sander after cleaning (coarser grain than recommended 180) and cleaned again. I capped the spout pipe to avoid drips of water, let it sit over night. The next day it had a pretty grainy surface and I was a little worried. That Epoxy has a way of leveling out though. It was kind of thick and flash dried quickly, made the follow-up coats easy. There were NO swirl marks, No runs. I never got a call-back. I assume it's fine. 3 years now.
Tom in KY, or was the final grit 120?,, I wanted it to stick!!
tbl wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
I wonder if that glaze the HD sells for fiberglas tubs would prevent the yellowing? They make one for fiberglas and one for marble/porcelain finishes.
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