Comments on: Refinishing The Clawfoot Tub

By: colin

colin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:01:36 +0000

I am thinking of using the mend-a-bath resurfacing kit to redo the inside of my old claw foot tub. Has anyone used or heard of it? The canadian company is tubby.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 01:14:29 +0000

This may be a viable suggestion for someone who has a ok/sentimental but not great claw foot tub:
My tub has an extensively rusted exterior including one broken claw that won’t support it. We can not fit it in our home as planned but am looking to rid the rust as much as possible and then spray painting it with a Rustoleum product. Then I plan to use it as a garden peice with plantings inside. Unfortunately, it was painted with interior wall paint in the 50′s or 60′s which is chipping off as well. What a mess! After reading someone elses input I think I’ll try sanding the paint and rust. But what should I do next to inhibit more rust? Thanks for your help.

Editor: For what it’s worth The outside of our tub was quite rusty – I simply sanded 90% of the rust off and painted it with Tremclad. Several years later, not a single issue. Perhaps the same for the inside?

By: Cheyenne

Cheyenne — Tue, 18 May 2010 20:50:55 +0000

Does anyone know if, instead of using the claw feet for the tub, I could make 2 wood block cradles to support an old claw foot tub? This style is available in new freestanding tubs, but I can’t find the cradles to purchase alone. Or are wooden stands/platforms available anywhere? Thanks!

By: Russell

Russell — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 13:04:07 +0000

Hi.

I think having any tub “re-porcelain-ed” is a mistake. If you can live with the pits and imperfections (and I bet you can) just leave it. We have 3 tubs in our 110 year old home. 2 of them have been refinished AT LEAST twice over the years. The refinishing coats have begun to crack—one of them severely. This has happened primarily around the drains but there are also large “splotches” on the tubs’ interior-bottoms where the finish has flaked.

Any professional is going to promise you some big “guarantee” but at the end of the day, you are really just spray painting the tub. No matter how heavy duty this coating may be, it is never going to be as strong and durable as the original baked finish. A coating will never make it “original” and is inviting new issues into the situation.

“We are now in the process of removing one of these tubs and sending it to the scrap heap; sadly, but even with a new coat, I fear the cracking and flaking will continue and honestly the thought of soaking in a re-finished (painted) tub kills the romance a little for me. (There is also severe rust where water has seeped under the finish coats). In it’s place, we are installing a tub removed from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home & Studio. It is far from perfect—a major porcelain flake around the filler opening and etching in the bottom. Still, I consider this a vast improvement over the re-porcelain-ed tub.

You said you are getting a little staining now where the finish has been scrubbed away; In my last place, many years ago, I got this on my old claw-foot. I did a quick wash with Softscrub™ and then waxed and buffed with an electric buffer. This worked quite well and even added some new sheen.

To add to the missing foot debate: here in Chicago there are several salvage companies that have crates full of tub feet. One of the places, Jan’s, has crates stacked halfway to the ceiling and 3 times as wide. They are reasonably priced. If you can’t find a missing one, just buy 4 new ones—with the same mounts as the old ones of course.

Sorry so long-winded. I just have a thing for these old tubs and think it’s a shame to recoat them. It’s old. It’s going to have a few scars. If it must look new, it could always be re-fired… but I say live with the scars.

By: Beverly Herman

Beverly Herman — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:53:02 +0000

i have a question on a claw tub. i resurfaced my tub with a kit (porelain paint kit). and after a few years i am noticing rust under the painted porcelain just on the bottomof the tub. it there an easy fix for this? can i just redo over this again or will it just keep coming back?

By: michele

michele — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:44:08 +0000

hi, I have been scouring the web looking for information on whether there are any health consequence to bathing in a claw foot tub that has an interior with porcelain that is quite chipped. This tub was in the house when we bought it and it would appear that the refinishing on the interior was a DIY job. I am planning to have it professionally refinished when we can afford the $500.plus to have the job done. A good portion of the bottom of the tub has the base exposed and up until a while ago I would bath with a bath mat in place. Now it’s nothing but showers and I really miss my bath! thanks for any info you might have.

By: Heather

Heather — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 20:56:36 +0000

Our clawfoot tub was surrounded by a home-made wooden, tiled box when we bought our home. We ripped off the box, the outside of the tub was in better shape than the inside. We took the tub to a refinisher who repaired the porcelain and put some sort of finish on the INSIDE. He suggested we use ordinary household paint (we just used something we had on hand — I think alkyd) for the OUTSIDE. The inside and outside were beautiful! We were careful cleaning the tub with non-scratch cleaners, but within a few years the finish started chipping off, especially around the drain (I think due to the water gushing while filling the tub). Over the years, more and more paint has chipped off and it looks quite unsightly. The original, and the new finish were both white, but different shades. The outside of the tub still looks wonderful. This paint has held up better than the paint on the walls. This tub was heavily used as it was the only tub in our house until recently.
Once again we want to refinish the INSIDE of the tub, but do not want to move the tub (this was by far the worst part of the whole job), so we are looking for a DIY solution. My husband would like to try fibreglassing it. Any ideas out there, for fibreglassing or other DIY methods of refinishing the outside. Thanks for any help.

By: jack bobo

jack bobo — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:48:40 +0000

I have an old claw foot tub that I am using as a fish pond. I have sealed the plug but the tub is leakind slowly from somewhere. how can I seal the inside?

By: Erica

Erica — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:23:24 +0000

I’m curious about how the interior finish has held up over the years since you did it. I have a cast iron tub that is my sole bathing resource (no shower), so I use it every day. I’m re-doing my bathroom this summer, and am exploring my options. I’d love to save money, but I want it done right. The porcelain is slightly pitted throughout, and there is a ring around the drain that shows the cast iron. The outside is not rusted, just painted, but you can tell there are many layers of paint and it’s kind of ugly.
I’m game to give it a go myself if I can save $500+, but I want to continue to be able to bathe in it comfortably daily.
Do you have recent photos/report of your own fix up job?
Thanks!

Hi Erica – I never actually touched the interior finish. What I can say the finish has remained unchanged since we installed the tub. The exterior finish is also perfect. We will eventually have the inside of the tub re-porcelained, but until then, this tub is a war horse!

By: Samerie

Samerie — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 06:25:18 +0000

Hey, So I have a few quick questions about Clawfoot tubs, I just purchased an old victorian, and I know they had a clawfoot tub in the upstairs bath, because they took it just before we closed, but I have no idea how much it weighed or the size and true style of the tub. I want to buy one local or off craigslist to refinish or have refinished, but I dont know how much my floor can handle. The house is just over a hundred years old. How do I find out how much weight my floor can handle? also any tips that would help when buying a used antique tub, would be awesome Thanks!!!

Hi Samerie – The only thing I can suggest is that you check to make sure the floor is sound to begin with. If the joists are on 16″ centres and the the subfloor is of a decent grade, you should be okay. If you are still worried, you can also place steel coasters under the tub feet which help to distribute the weights more evenly.