DIY Renos

Around my place, cats would be considered playmates by the beagles. The beagles are considered "The enemy" by the local cats.

 

Get this! My city has a population of just over 700,000 people. and an estimated 200,000 cats!!! Even the animal hospices can't handle the volume!!!

A chain of Chinese fastfood joints would really help - chinese sweet and sour cat balls... That would take care of half the cat gang, at least...

 

The Hydrogen Peroxide works on rust stains! (Check that site out; cleaning solutions for brass, aluminum, nickel, etc. http://www.finishing.com)

The vinegar/salt solution does a great job on the rust too; it's acidic combination actally eats the rust and some of the iron in the cast iron. That's good and bad. Because cast iron is porous, you really have to rinse and rinse and rinse, otherwise the vinegar/salt solution will continue munching away. I used my heat gun to dry out the rest - not too hot or the enamel will crack.

Used the porcelain chip-repair for the nicks and smaller edge chips, and some surface scratches in the porcelain. I'll use sandpaper from 400 to 1000 to smooth them out before final cleaning and painting.

The tub and sink were called Port Hope because the company had a plant in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada. It was originally called Standard Castings, and then Standard American, and today is called American Standard! Neat bit of history. Anyway, its over 80 years old. Man, these old tubs are getting expensive - up to $1990! So I checked out our cast iron kitchen sink. $595 unrestored! I can understand why folks are chasing them down. Rock solid, deeper than today's sinks and the drainboard is integral - no plastic tray to fiddle with. The wife wants to keep it for a veggie/canning sink.

Anyway, the folks that owned the house took good care of them, so its worth tweaking them up.

Gonna reinstall the legs and finish them up over the next few days. Then finish testing and connecting the new plumbing, install the bathroom flooring (linoleum), and the kitchen plumbing and sink alcove cabinet. Then I can disconnect the old plumbing, remove the old cast iron vent pipes and finish the stairs to the second floor - the old DWV vent pipes were the obstacle for the new UP and DOWN stairs.

And in my spare time... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

 

The cat cartoon was apparently a too subtle reference to Norman's appearance on the forum.
My humour is very dry.

 

not too dry for me, andy....I guess dry understands dry.

 

Dito.......

 

You forgot subtle!!!

 

Okay, that's about it! I am gonna have to stop reading this and Fat Tedy's RENO progress. Everytime I do I get depressed and tired ! I need a beer and a break. I'm tuckered out.

 

Bathroom Fixture Refinishing - YES!!!

Its scary using stuff that you've never heard of or seen before, so I did it EXACTLY like the instructions said.

Here's the MFR's Page:
http://www.swingpaints.com/8100_8199us_can.htm

I got the Fish-eye bottle, the epoxy cleaner (a must), the Prep Kit, and the epoxy paint for about $60. Didn't use the fish-eye additive or the Prep Kit. The Prep Kit includes a 4 oz. package of TSP and another package of a fine-grit scrubbing compound, as well as a small scrubbing pad with wet-sanding (120 grit) pad. I bought a sheet of 3M's brown sanding pad, and cut one up in 3" squares. I had a 2 quart box of TSP. I bought it because I thought it was specially formulated for the porcelain - its just handy, and costs more than the full box of TSP and the 3M pads together. I'll take it back, along with the fish-eye additive. Saving about $15.

The instructions are specific, except... that they don't explain the product. It goes on like a paint, except that it's VERY thin. The quart can comes half full, the 1/2 quart can is full. They do explain that you mix each one with its own stir stick, and add the small can to the quart can. What they DON'T explain is that this stuff (constistency of 3% Milk) isn't drying, like paint, as much as it is reacting and curing, while it's etching itself into the slightly sanded/scrubbed porcelain surface. You need an epoxy-compatible, fine-bristle 1" brush to apply it. I thought I'd try a 1-1/2 inch brush, until I saw it run off the stir stick. I used the 1" brush.

The other nice thing about this product is that the odour only lasts for the 2-3 hour curing time per coat. How do I know that it isn't drying, but curing? If you can't paint the second coat within 3 hours, because it could be 'tacky', you have to put it in the freezer!!! Below 0 degrees Centigrade! That stops the curing for up to 48 hours. I did the sink and the tub with 2 coats on the inside surfaces (used gloss white Rustoleum on the outside), and still had 1/2 quart left over, so I kept it, in case I need to touch up.

The temperature was a perfect 24C (73F) and humidity was 55% - ideal conditions for this to let me get 2 coats on within 5 hours. (I broke off for dinner.) Took an hour and a half for the first coat, and an hour for the second. Use their epoxy thinner for spatters, brush cleaning, and any paint on your arms and hands, and keep a dry towel handy to wipe off a ny sweat before it hits the wet finish.

I AM IMPRESSED!!! I wonder if you could use it on brake cylinders or non-heating car parts???

Here's some pics:










I did the clawfeet with Duplicolor's chrome paint, on top of Rustoleum's White Galvanize-etching Primer. Give's it a silver/pewter look.

It says to wait 5 days before using, so I'll prep the nice old taps and finish the plumbing hookups, in the meantime.

Oh!!! Mask off the under edges of the tub rim with enough to catch the drips (about 1/16th to 1/8" exposed, and put plastic or cardboard on the floor extending out by about 6" (not enough that you'd be walking or kneeling on it.) Wipe off any spatters with their cleaner, ASAP, or kiss your floor shine bye-bye. That stuff is hard when it dries and it does etch into the surface below.

Also, keep the windows open and yes, you can use a small fan (unless you space is really dusty.

There are a couple small runs, which I'll sand down with 400 grit and touch up, after tomorrow. You just can't fill it with water, but you can apply another coat or touch up. Flows and levels really nice, enough to fill small scratches too.

The wife was teasing me, that I was acting like I was DaVinci, painting the cistine chappel. I told her I was decorating the Wayside Chappel (WC)

They do look great! And when it dries/cures, it does feel like real porcelain enamel.

EDIT:
Just checked the pics. They look blotchy. The problem is that I used a Daylight Bright CFL light in the area, as well as the camera flash. The real sink and tub look gorgeous - DaVinci is proud!:banana:

 

Oh! and this is important. The instructions say that you can treat rust with products like rust converters (spray). I used a wet rag soaked with a vinegar/salt solution and left on for 3 hours, then washed off with TSP. Either would work. The problem to handle are the chipped areas. I got LePage's 2-part epoxy (I use it to make jig knobs for woodworking), and mixed up enough to fill the area that was damaged around the overflow tube. I used appliance touch up on the bare metal first, and let it sit for a day, then spread the epoxy. It does sag a bit, so I used 150 grit on a rubber sanding block to level it up. Can't see where it was fixed. Ditto on the sink's overflow opening. If the chips haven't broken through to the metal, use either the appliance touchup or epoxy. and sand level with the original enamel (no ridges sticking up). A small indent will fill with the epoxy paint.

This is a home-owner friendly product.

The alternative product by Homax Mfg. requires an expensive gas mask and various filter replacements. But the prep videos on their site are worth watching, especially for the similar preparation tips. Its just not available in Canada.

http://orders.homaxproducts.com/Browse-Homax-Products/Homax-Products-Tub-Sink-Tile-Refinishing

http://orders.homaxproducts.com/Video-Library

I've got to scan under the hood and see where I can use this stuff. It is tintable too! Might give Powder-coating a good run.


EDIT!:
I soaked the clawfeet in my vinegar/salt solution overnight to clean off the rust. It also removed the factory primer (galvanized etching primer). If you browse the WWW, you'll learn that ordinary paint WON'T stick to cast iron - its porous. You can get Rustoleum's metal-etching galvanized primer in a spray can. They've got a gray one, as well as the white one, that I used. I painted the inside of the legs with gloss-white rustoleum, after the primer dried, and the outside with Dupli-Color's chrome paint. Rustoleum also has chrome, brass or bronze. Its a nice touch.

 

Very impresive looking Norm, dam nice

 

Thanks Tedy. I was a bit intimidated doing this. I figured if I screwed it up, that I'd be handed a bucket to bathe in outside!!!

Really pleased at how easy it went on. The time is in the Prep work - cleaning, patching, but its no different than prepping a car for paint. Wet-sanding with TSP - piece of cake.

Found all the old tap seals, and new popup drain for the old tub, at RONA. Ammonia cleans off the brass and bronze and nickel plating. Nice tear-drop porcelain knobs, and even the outlet for one of those old rubber hose spray heads. Gonna look good.

The best part is that the new drain system is for the 1-1/2" ABS pipe. No more matted hair to fuss with! Same thing on the sink! Flush Twice.. Its along way to Ottawa!!!

 

Those look really GOOD, Normy! I'm impressed. I am usually leary of those kinds of products but it does look like porcelain! Nice job!

 

Came out nice, for sure. It feels like the real thing, hard and durable... Thanks.

Started on the old taps (Tub and Sink) Got a few nicks to smooth out. The tap seats are like new. The guys at the plumbing supply distributors told me that the new version of the tub taps sell for around $400, and can't touch the quality of these old ones. Lots of TLC should keep them performing like trained seals.

Some of the new ones have a faked antique finish, mine will show their battle-scars! I was wondering about replating them, but I may just use Clear Epoxy over their current look. I'll post pics, when I get them cleaned up.

I'm using a baking soda soak to kill the green stains and ammonia to clean off the brass/bronze parts. The main finish is brushed nickel plate, which I'll clean up with Silvo and Brasso and Jeweller's Rouge (red, then white). They even plated the valve stems! Go figure...

 

Hurry up StorminNorman, you're gonn a need a bath soon. And people just can't hold it much longer.