New Life for Old Tubs

A Buyer's Guide to Bathroom Fixture Refinishing

by Kathleen Fisher

Ahhh, there's nothing more relaxing than a long soak in a big clawfoot tub. But sometimes no matter how much bubblebath we dump in, the sensual pleasure is dampened (so to speak) by chips and stains on what should be smooth-as-silk, snowy white porcelain enamel.

If you've ever mused about having a classic bathtub or sink refinished you may have heard horror stories. Maybe a friend's new finish peeled after only a few months. Maybe it turned as yellow as old floor wax. The culprit may have been an epoxy paint kit from the hardware store, costing less than $20 and slapped on in an afternoon by a do-it-yourselfer.

Painting something born to hold water does seem an iffy proposition. Yet putting a new porcelain skin on your cast-iron fixtures requires firing them in an oven, a large-scale industrial operation too cost-prohibitive for individual tubs.  

Fortunately there's a middle ground: professional reglazing with a two-part urethane enamel, consisting of a resin and catalyst. It's still paint and it will cost more than pocket change. But reputable dealers (who all use some brand of this same product) will often guarantee their work for five years, and with proper care, they say, a well-done job can last a decade or more. You may be able to get a recommendation from a friend. If not, here are some questions to ask when you let your fingers do the walking.

In My Home or In Your Shop?
Most refinishers prefer to do the work in your home. But if you've found a salvaged tub that you plan to install, you're likely to get a better job done in the contractors' shop--assuming you have a way to get your tub there. An unattached tub can be painted both inside and out, and the refinishers can take their time and do a more careful job.

What Steps Do You Take Before You Paint?
After removing fittings, refinishers clean off soap scum with a razor blade and solvent. Then they tackle any old paint with a scraper blade and a chemical stripper similar to the kind used on furniture. The stripper also loosens rust, which is more thoroughly dispatched with a grinder.

Next comes a crucial step: etching the inside of the tub with hydrofluoric acid, which sets up a surface that allows the paint to bond to the porcelain. "If you look at the porcelain under a microscope, it looks like a mountain range," says Charles Wachter, who has been resurfacing tubs and other fixtures in the Washington, D.C., area for almost 40 years. Wachter says that in his shop, preparing the surface of a particularly paint-splattered or roughed-up tub may take up to six hours, while the spray painting itself can be done in just over an hour. Before the paint goes on, the refinishers have to repair any dents or dings, a process similar to the one used to repair car bodies. After sanding to set up adhesion, they fill small nicks with plastic filler and bigger gouges with fiberglass topped with plastic. The fiberglass is stronger, but harder to sand down.

How Much Will It Cost?
Wachter charges $475 to paint the average clawfoot tub--the fancy feet pull off easily and are sprayed several at a time--and $275 for a sink. That's in his shop. If his painter comes to your home he can only paint the inside of your tub, which will set you back $350--well under the cost of a reproduction clawfoot (see sidebar).

How Long Will You Spend on the Painting?
After the filler is sanded, the tub is ready for painting. Wachter's refinisher Jim Crowe gives fixtures four to five coats, pausing about 15 minutes between coats, striving for a 4-mil dry-film thickness. Once the paint dries--it takes 24 to 48 hours depending on the weather, although some refinishers speed the process along with a heat lamp--he wet-sands the tub, finishing with 1200-grit sandpaper and a rubbing compound that gives fixtures an almost mirrorlike finish. (Your tub won't get the extra beauty treatment if it's refinished in situ.)

What Colors Can I Get?
Although white tubs are in the majority, Wachter's wife, Alice, can custom mix any color (although they prefer not to take on metallic coatings) to match fabric, tile, or wallpaper. A fire-engine-red pedestal sink reglazed several years ago is always a big hit at home shows. In addition to tubs and sinks, Wachter's company has reglazed stove tops and even a barber chair.

What Care Will My Tub Need?
Refinished tubs don't exactly need to be babied, but they can't be cleaned with abrasive scouring powders. "You should never use them anyway," says Wachter. "If no one had ever used them, I probably wouldn't have any tubs to refinish. And you shouldn't hang a wet washcloth over the edge of the tub and leave it there. I tell people the tub needs to breathe. That usually helps them remember."

How Long Will It Last?
Wachter says one customer's finish has lasted 16 years, although eight to 10 is more typical. Eventually it's going to peel somewhere and once it begins to get water under the surface of the polyurethane, failure is rapid.

What Is Your Track Record?
Porcelite, Wachter's company, isn't part of a franchise although there are several around the country. More important than the brand name is whether painters have been properly trained and whether the company stands behind its work. Just as with any contractor, find out how long the business has been in the same location and get references--preferably someone who's had their tub reglazed several years ago, not just last week.

Ideally, you'll find that special someone who can give your old tub a skin you'll want against your own.

Thanks to Charles Wachter and Jim Crowe at Porcelite (10350 Southard Road, Beltsville, MD 20705, (301)595-9131) for all their time and help, and to Ron Allan and the folks at Washington, D.C.'s Brass Knob for the "model" bathtubs.

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