Cast iron bathtub restoration

We have two clawfoot cast iron tubs from our house we would like to re-use in the renovation. They are in rough condition – feet falling off, holes from where old faucets were, etc. We want to reglaze and restore the tubs and fill the holes from the old faucets (they will be installed with a wall mounted tub filler so all we need is waste and overflow drains). Would love recommendations as one place we called said they can’t fill holes, but I have read that it is doable. Thank you! [Tub1](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s2/:brownstoner:YVhK:tub1.jpg.jpg) [Tub2](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s2/:brownstoner:8bnC:tub2.jpg.jpg) [Tub3](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s1/:brownstoner:5Wtg:tub3.jpg.jpg)

Sherita

in General Discussion 2 years and 9 months ago

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markwalker | 2 years and 8 months ago

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I love the idea of having “the original” in my house, yet in so many situations during our Reno we found that replicating an old feature was comaprable in price to restoring, and turned out to be more satisfactory.

The Canadian company CHEVIOT makes beautiful new clawfoot tubs, with thick enamel and nice rolled rims ad a choice of foot styles (There are piles of old feet in the iron yard near Lowe’s if you want to use old ones). Several of the bathroom suppliers carry the brand.

annep | 2 years and 9 months ago

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I spotted a clawfoot tub getting powder coated at Ever Nu Metal this week – wondering if that’s an option? Their work is beautiful.

BKALLDAY | 2 years and 9 months ago

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I reused all of my claw foots. We had them sand blasted and re-enameled, but they did not need patching. Believe it or not we sent them to an antique car restoration place in Philly that redid them and my then husband’s classic car. It was expensive and took longer but worth every penny. I am not sure what it would cost you now though especially since they need repair as well. There used to be a place on Atlantic off of Smith that was good and we also had a lovely young man from a shop in Coney Island take care of some sinks for us. The hardest thing with the tubs was finding the nails that held the feet on. With all of the antique stores on Atlantic shuttering, those gave us the most trouble. Try to see if Landmarks has anyone they recommend. Good luck.

RobertGMarvin

in General Discussion 2 years and 9 months ago

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Deglazed/painted

RobertGMarvin

in General Discussion 2 years and 9 months ago

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Cate,
F WIW our reglazed/paimed tub shows no signs of wear after over two years. You do have to be careful with cleaning—no scouring powder.

cate | 2 years and 9 months ago

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If the tub itself is in good (usable) condition I would STRONGLY advise against reglazing. The original finish is going to be so much more usable than anything else you could do. (There are two types of reglazing, painting in place and genuine baked on layers of enamel. The former will not last more than a few months for a tub, and the latter causes issues with drainage, and you will likely be unable to get a fitting that will work for the drain no matter what, not to mention the extreme difficulty of removal, transport, and reinstallation.) Lastly, use the holes that are there now. Check Vintage Tub & Bath online (based in Pennsylvania) for all the accessories and fittings you need, from faucets to fit any kind of holes to external tub drains to lengths of nickel finishes supply lines in the correct gauge for a historical tub. They also have shower risers and other accessories. Strom/Sign of the Crab makes high quality faucets but I have found the more ordinary Randolph Morris etc. for tubs/showers is durable. Good luck.

RobertGMarvin

in General Discussion 2 years and 9 months ago

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A company called The Painted Otter did a good job of reglazing our claw foot tub. I have no idea if they can fill in the faucet holes or if that can even be done. Why not use a tub mounted faucet? There are attractive ones available. Also, if you intend to install a shower in the tub a wall-mounted faucet would interfere with a shower curtain.

andriywww1990 | 2 years and 9 months ago

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    string(22) "andriywww1990gmail-com"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(23) "andriywww1990@gmail.com"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2021-04-03 17:51:15"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(15) "Andrii Kusevych"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(203055)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(1) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(3) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

welding something into the holes in the cast iron will be difficult. it can be done by the right person. but i wonder if it damages the porcelain.