Wanting to create a vintage bathroom can be more of a challenge then most people might think. My idea of a farmhouse/vintage bathroom was to incorporate a claw foot tub and after several months of searching one was finally found. In order to stay true to the beautiful bathroom that was in my mind meant that it was necessary to refinish a claw foot tub.
After locating a tub that was exactly the right tub for this remodel project, it was time to begin sanding it down for refinishing. If you want the tub to turn out the best it possibly can be it is necessary to sand down ALL of the old finish and patch any chips. This took a lot of hours and pads with an electric sander.
If it is necessary to patch chips remember to use a good, and I stress good, patch kit. In my experience this seems to be the common denominator for the best outcome and the suggested product is to use an epoxy kit. The tub we purchased already had patches that maintained during the sanding process so we left them.
We waited until the majority of the remainder of the bathroom had been completed before we started. Of course some of the chair rail had to be ordered as the discovery was made that there was not enough to finish the trim. Against my better judgment the process began.
As per the instructions the bathtub needed to be heated up to 75 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 12 hours! We used an extra heat lamp we had for our chicken coop and a small room heater and actually let it heat up closer to 24 hours.
This is the final product after the Ekopel was put on. Initially, the Ekopel was poured around the top in order to get it flow down the sides of the tub. Once that was done the foam roller, that was provided, was used to even it out and to get the application as smooth as possible.
One thing to note is to be aware of the edges having drip marks. This requires wiping off about every 1/2 hour with an alcohol soaked, lint free cloth.
Keeping the room at 75 degrees seems to aid in the drying process so this was used for a week after the Ekopel was applied. The bottom was left thicker than the sides as I wanted it as smooth as possible, but it was not so thick that it created divots. The instructions said to leave the tub unused for at least 24 hours - based on previous experience we waited a week to attach the plumbing.
For the outside of the tub we used a flat black spray paint to refresh the black paint that was already installed. The feet were sandblasted to get all of the old paint off and then we used an electrostatic process with a clear coat to keep it as original as possible, not to mention rust free.
Note: Do not use anything with lint on your tub. Not only will it create a bunch of bumps in your otherwise immaculate refinish job, but you will never get them out without messing it up.
Happy refinishing!
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