Replies

1. 
   hacknhope | Jun 03, 2005 07:18pm | #1

   This is a commonly asked question here.  I've asked.  You're taking your chances that the new finish will fail in just a few years.  One poster, I recall, had done hundreds of reglazings and had a good sense of the distribution of failures.  Some last 30 years, but many fail quickly.  You'd be out time and money for any new work destroyed when replacing the tub afterall down the road.  They are heavy+ and brittle, so moving the tub to a shop is not an option.  

   "...really nice lines".  Sounds like you have good taste.  It's not easy to find a replacement cast iron tub that will have just the right proportions (e.g., deep but on a modest foot-print).  Kohler has a few to choose from. 

1. 
   ashay | Jun 06, 2005 04:30am | #2

   Thanks for your advice, at least now I know how I should spend my time.

2. 
   Dinosaur | Jun 06, 2005 05:03am | #3

   With all due respect to Hack, I disagree about not moving the tub to a shop; this is done here all the time. A 5-foot tub weighs about 300 pounds, not a big deal for two guys unless there are stairs involved (in which case you remove the feet and skid it down or up on 2x with hauling tackles).

   I had a similar cast-iron, claw-footed tub re-finished about 10 years ago when I re-built my own place. The re-finisher came here to see it, then told me he'd prefer to do my job at his shop. So he and I picked it up and carried it out of the basement and up the hill to the front yard and loaded it into his '89 Toyota pick-up. And away he went....

   Note that what I got is not a fired-on finish, but a sprayed enamel that air dries. I do not know of anyone who actually strips cast-iron tubs to bare metal and re-fires a new porcelain finish onto them. I've got to say that this enamel is incredible. I cannot see any difference--and I have an extremely critical eye--and it has held up beautifully, even with a growing boy and his tub toys in it most of the time. Except for one tiny nick where my son rammed his metal wind-up speed boat into the side, it looks as good 10 years later as the day the re-finisher delivered it back to me. 

   Dinosaur

   A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...

   

   But it is not this day.

1. 
   hacknhope | Jun 07, 2005 02:30am | #4

   ....no respect deserved...

   Do your guys tend to resurface cast iron alcove tubs, or just claw foot?  Claw foot I can see.  The original poster here didn't specify claw foot, although for 1925, that's most likely.   In another thread someone was talking about a CI alcove and someone said it'll get picked up from the curb.  Footed?  Yes.  Alcove? Naw.

   I wish I could (easily/cheaply) reglaze a 1940s CI alcove tub which has classier lines than I can find now.   "Art Deco Straight Wall".  Just a little narrower, nicely rounded lip, 3 inches taller/deeper than a new Kohler.  It has a year, at least, left to live.  So I'm still looking.

   Edited 6/6/2005 8:57 pm ET by hacknhope

1. 
   Dinosaur | Jun 07, 2005 03:51am | #5

   I'd say the operative element would be how hard it would be to get the tub through the bathroom door and outside.  Alcove tubs are a bit more difficult to remove and re-install, but obviously it can be done. I would guess an alcove tub would weigh about 50-75 lbs more than a similar size footed one. Just a guess, though.

   The man who did my tub does do on-site refinishing. I think he uses an HVLP sprayer. But obviously, he prefers to work in his shop where he doesn't have to mask everything in sight. So you ought to be able to find someone near you who can do the same thing if that's necessary.

   Ten years ago, refinishing my tub both inside and out, pick-up and delivery, a faucet/mixer, a drain set with overflow, and four new matching feet, all cost me seven bills.

   That's C$, of course....

   Dinosaur

   A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...

   But it is not this day.