Enamel Bath Resurfacing

[mandryka]

The hassle with al plastic baths and epoxy refinishes is that they are not at all scratch resistant. You absolutely CANNOT use any abrasive on them AT ALL if you want to preserve any kind of finish for any time at all.

I had a standard plastic bath for a few years that was pristine as they can be kept perfectly clean with regular use of one of the pump spray detergent-based bath/shower cleaners, a soft cloth and a little elbow-grease. A girl-friend knew different and against my absolute instruction not to, bought some bath cleaning pads, the sort with the surface finish of something like a fletton brick. One cleaning left a pattern like the common swirl pattern used in Artex.

Abrasive cleaners also ruin vitreous enamel, just more slowly.

One tip - dilute the cleaning solution about 50;50 so that you can be very generous using it. I usually spray the bath after using it and give it a quick clean from inside the bath, before it is used next

Yes my enamel bath was spoilt by abrasive cleaners, the problem is to stop other people from using them.

 

[mandryka]

http://www.sherpatools.co.uk/index.php/products/galvanised-steel-tin-bath/

or perhaps

http://woodenbathsltd.com/baths.html

or even corian and glass

https://www.archiproducts.com/en/products/moma-design/corian-bathtub-chaise-longue-vitre_164995

I like the idea of a wooden bath! They cost about as much as a good amp and will give just as much pleasure.

 

[garyi]

We did ours at a previous house, it went rough real quick and yellow. Just get a new bath.

 

[mandryka]

The mixture of positive and negative experiences makes me wonder if there’s more than one process involved.

 

[mandryka]

This one claims mentions clients, and to not be fly by night, so maybe that’s something to explore

https://bathglaze.com/about-us/

 

[steve watkins]

The mixture of positive and negative experiences makes me wonder if there’s more than one process involved.

If vitreous enamelled it will be sandblasted, sprayed/covered with glass beads, heated until very hot until the glass melts and fuses to the substrate. Not a home job hence the requirement to take it to a Vitreous Enamellers.
If painted with epoxy it will need to be stripped/keyed with hydrochloric acid and then sprayed like you would a car (two part epoxy) and left until fully cured/set.
If your bath is just dull and no longer shiny you might find that machine polishing with cerium oxide restores the finish if there is enough material left to polish.
I would speak to a vitreous enameller and see what your options are.
If garyi's bath went yellow I suspect polyurethane was involved some where in the repainting process. Not the best thing to use.

 

[steve watkins]

This one claims mentions clients, and to not be fly by night, so maybe that’s something to explore

https://bathglaze.com/about-us/

I wouldn't wish to do them down but seems remarkably unconvincing to me with very blurred lines between enamelling and refinishing.
If I had facilities to heat a cast iron bath to red hot and melt glass, rather than just painting it, I would be crowing about it.

 

[mandryka]

Oh **** it, I’ll get a new bath. It was a silly idea, I want a wooden one anyway.