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

"James B" wrote in message
...
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.

http://www.miraclemethod.com/index.htm

LJ

James B wrote:
are any of the home user products any good?

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.

wrote in message
oups.com...

James B wrote:
are any of the home user products any good?

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.

James B wrote:
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

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.


--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

On Wed, 11 Jan 2006 01:45:53 GMT, "James B"
wrote:

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.


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.
--
tbl

old_Boat wrote:

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.


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
:

On Wed, 11 Jan 2006 01:45:53 GMT, "James B"
wrote:

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.


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.

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.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net