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Make It Easy:  Questions about refinishing clawfoot tub  |
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happymama58
True Blue Farmgirl
1210 Posts
Patti
Missouri
USA
1210 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 17 2006 : 5:48:12 PM
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I've got a lead on a clawfoot tub that I can get pretty cheap. It's in good condition, but the feet need to be painted and there's some hardwater stains, etc. DH said if we get this one he thinks we should either refinish it or have it done.
Is this easy to do? How much would it cost it to do it ourselves? Or is it better to have a professional do it? Are they expensive?
tia
Some people search for happiness; others create it.
http://happymama58.typepad.com/my_weblog/ |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Apr 17 2006 : 6:26:43 PM
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I have an OLD clawfoot tub - it's been in this 1870's farmhouse ever since it was first put in, however many years ago that was. The porcelain is a bit etched and pitted, but I painted the feet and outside with regular high-gloss latex paint, and that worked fine, after sanding it with steel wool and sandpaper on the outside.
The inside we've elected to keep "as is." The pitting is minimal, and I must admit, I scrubbed that interior with Comet until I had sore shoulders in the beginning, just because the house was, to put it mildly, FILTHY when we moved in, and I just couldn't imagine sitting in it. It's pretty easy to keep clean with soap and baking soda now, and while it looks like an old tub, I don't mind it.
If I were going to refinish the porcelain, I would definitely have it professionally done. When I was researching those options, they seemed like we'd have to be more careful with the finish that I am willing to be at this point in my life - kids and all - and no shower or other bathroom. BUT, when it's just us, later? A definite maybe....
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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frannie
True Blue Farmgirl
2246 Posts
fran
bonham
texas
USA
2246 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2006 : 06:35:03 AM
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i agrre with libbie, the inside of the tub, i just cleaned and wouldnt take on the job of refinishing, because of the chemicals involved.
when i painted the outside of the tub, i just sanded it and i primed it with a spray metal paint primer and then i just used a regular paint.
ten years later and it has held up real well.
i have also noticed lately at the tractor store that they have something called, tractor or cast iron paint.
i wonder if that wouldnt work, or the stove paints that are made for cast iron stoves . anyway i think it is possible and doable.
fran |
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asnedecor
True Blue Farmgirl
1054 Posts
Anne
Portland
Or
USA
1054 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2006 : 06:45:53 AM
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You may want to check to see if the feet can be taken off - some are screwed on. If so, then take them off and boil them in water with arm & hammer high concentrate cleaning solution. This will get all of the paint off and give you a good clean surface to paint. The rest of the tub on the outside - I agree, a little steel wool to rough up the paint surface then the metal primer probably would be a good idea and then paint. Should hold up fine.
Anne
"Second star to the right, straight on till morning" Peter Pan
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sonflowergurl
True Blue Farmgirl
349 Posts
Katee
Tampa 'Burbs
FL
USA
349 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2006 : 5:25:03 PM
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I thought of you today when I was looking in our local "ad rag" (lol)... they have an old (1920's) clawfoot tub advertised for sale for $125! I'd buy it in a heartbeat if I owned my own home!!!
Katee
The end will justify the pain it took to get us here.
"Looking Toward the Son"---- http://sonflowergirl731.blogspot.com
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FarrarFarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
330 Posts
Lynda
Frohna
Missouri
USA
330 Posts |
Posted - Apr 19 2006 : 08:16:56 AM
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Patti,
I'm glad you asked that question, I have an old claw foot tub I bought from a guy at work for $50. I've always, always wanted one, but did not have a place to put it. So....please don't frown on me.....I put it in a flower bed and used it for flowers. It looked really cute. Really.
I do plan to use it for it's original purpose someday, but not in our present house.
Well, last summer we got rid of the flower bed it was being used in, so here it sets in my back yard. We had a 21st birthday party for our son last August and we needed something to ice the beer and soda down in, guess what we used? Yep! The claw foot tub.
Now it sits by the garden turned upside down. This past Monday we got the garden put out and I needed to sit down so I just backed up to the tub and sat. Then it ocurred to me, "Wow, this would make a great place to sit." So.....all this to say, I'm glad you asked, Patti, because I would like to paint it and make it look nice if we decide to use it as such for this year. The old paint is peeling off and I don't want to take a chance on the twins getting ahold of any of the paint chippings.
I'm finding out these things are definitely made for more than one purpose. :o)
As usual, the farmgirls pull through with very good suggestions. YOu all did double duty by helping me, too. I hope the tub you get, Patti, is very usable, I'm sure it will be a show piece in your bathroom when you get it done.
Have a blessed day.
In His hands,
Lynda
Pray in faith and you will not live in doubt.
www.pamperedchef.biz/lorenzfamilycooks |
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Fabulous Farm Femmes
True Blue Farmgirl
792 Posts
Diane
Lakebay, Tacoma
WA
792 Posts |
Posted - Apr 22 2006 : 7:15:18 PM
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| Patty, we bought an old clawfoot tub and a friend told us to clean out the stains with muric acid. It certainly did the trick on our tub.You might want to look into that. Good luck. |
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AnnieT
True Blue Farmgirl
287 Posts
Annie
287 Posts |
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Julie R
Farmgirl in Training
18 Posts
Julie
Hyde Park
Utah
USA
18 Posts |
Posted - May 16 2006 : 4:49:28 PM
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| Hi all. I bought a 1906 bathtub from an estate sale--the house was being demolished. The interior porcelain was in excellent condition, but the outside was covered with many layers of many kinds of paint. I was not able to do the work myself, but a local auto body shop sandblasted the outside and primed and painted it with green automobile paint. I'm very happy with it. They also sandblasted and painted my mother's old Viking restaurant stove a gorgeous cobalt blue, aand also painted miscellaneous wrought and cast iron items I had inherited. This will work for any metal items. |
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sugarsfarm
True Blue Farmgirl
272 Posts
Leah
Woodward
Iowa
USA
272 Posts |
Posted - May 16 2006 : 10:19:43 PM
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Im glad this post was put back into circulation, because i found out that in one of the many piles of old "debris" left on my farm is an old claw foot tub. The only problem is that there is a crack in it. Can this be fixed? like a welding job or something?
You must be the change you want to see in the world.
Mahatma Gandhi |
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happymama58
True Blue Farmgirl
1210 Posts
Patti
Missouri
USA
1210 Posts |
Posted - May 17 2006 : 10:29:22 AM
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Ladies, I didn't get the tub I had a lead on, but I'm not giving up. I know I'll find the right one some day. I've saved all your responses. Sugarsfarm, I know someone who has one that was cracked and her family uses it. I'll call her and ask her what she did to fix it and let you know. Congratulations on your find!
Some people search for happiness; others create it.
http://happymama58.typepad.com/my_weblog/ |
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sugarsfarm
True Blue Farmgirl
272 Posts
Leah
Woodward
Iowa
USA
272 Posts |
Posted - May 17 2006 : 11:02:55 AM
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Oh thanks Patti! I do hope i can fix it up!
You must be the change you want to see in the world.
Mahatma Gandhi |
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Make It Easy: Questions about refinishing clawfoot tub |
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Questions about refinishing clawfoot tub
