How to Refinish a Clawfoot Tub

Let's face it, tubs are built to last. How often do you hear of people refinishing their tubs? Doesn't happen often. However, clawfoot tubs are a different story. Clawfoot tubs are somewhat "vintage" commodities, and people like to think of them as collectors items, such as an old muscle car. People restore their collectors cars all the time, so why not a clawfoot tub?

When assuming the task of refinishing a clawfoot tub, common questions such as "Where do I start?", come up all the time. Hopefully this article will give you a better idea on how to best accomplish this task.

For starters, you need to understand the basic elements that make up a clawfoot tub. Listed in level of difficulty, they are:

1) The Feet of the Tub (least)
2) The Outside (somewhat difficult)
3) Inside (very difficult)

For the feet, you need to remove any outside coating, such as rust or paint, with a wire brush. You can make this job much easier by applying paint stripper or thinner over the feet before brushing them. Once the residue is removed, apply a solvent to clean the feet entirely. Make sure you wear safety gear (glasses, respirator, and gloves), as some solvents can be pretty nasty. Once clean of any paint or residue, the next step is to apply a metal primer, followed by your chosen color of paint. Some people choose to coat their feet in chrome, nickel, or brass. It's your choice.

Stepping up to the next level of difficulty, we have the outside of the tub. Just as we did with the feet, your going to need to strip the outside of the tub of any finish, such as paint, rush, or any other coatings. Depending on the coating strength you may need to do some heavy grinding or sandblasting. This step could take awhile, and smoothing the surface with fine grit sandpaper may be required to get the desired results. Once clean, you need to apply several coats of polyester material. This will create a smooth surface for your outer layer. Once dry you may apply the enamel or porcelain substitute to finish the outside of the tub.

For the last step, you are probably going to need to hire a professional. The inside of the tub needs to be resurfaced, and most novices shouldn't tackle this one on their own. Skilled tradesmen that specialized in tub refinishing use special molecular bonding products, which are applied over a series of layers. In short, the product creates a very strong molecular (covalent) bond between the surface of the tub and the outer smooth surface. Some professionals use a different method, called mechanical bonding. This is a more budget oriented method, and is not as strong as the molecular bonding. It is prone to breaking and chipping, and water often seeps within the cracks which can lift the outer coating (not good).

Using this 3 step method can produce a very clean, smooth, "new" looking clawfoot tub, however some people still suggest hiring a professional to do a complete overhaul of the tub. The choice is yours. If you feel you are up to the task, it can be a very rewarding experience. Good luck!

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