Bath enamels

Recommendation points

• What enamel for baths to choose
• Bath enamel restoration – methods
• Bath enamel
• In conclusion – some tips

In this Article: Causes of Enamel Wear; GOST for enameled baths; service life of cast iron baths; industrial enameling; ways to restore baths; bath enamel materials; which enamels are suitable for bath restoration and which are not; bath enamel prices; bathtub repair recommendations.

What enamel for baths to choose

A century ago, a private bath was a luxury item available to only a few townspeople, and in the countryside, the owners of their own cast-iron bath could be counted on one hand. Today, this plumbing fixture is present in almost every apartment and in many private houses. The problem is that after a dozen years, the color of the bath acquires a yellow-brown hue, which intensifies every year. The reason for this is rust, showing through the enamel worn out by periodic cleanings..

The main reason for the wear of bath enamel is abrasive and acid-containing cleaners, as well as chemically active reagents used when flushing the water supply system. The inner surface of the bath becomes so rough and rusty that it is unpleasant to use it, to put it mildly..

Enameled baths are manufactured in accordance with GOST 18297-96, the warranty period for them is up to 2 years in accordance with GOST. On average, enamel on bathtubs retains its properties for about 10 years of use. The enameling of baths in an industrial way is carried out as follows: from the outside, the cast-iron bath is heated red-hot, then the enamel powder is evenly sieved on its inside through a fine sieve, after which the bath is re-heated from the outside to melt the powder enamel and obtain a glossy surface. It is impossible to repeat this enameling process at home..

Bath enamel restoration – methods

There are two of them: enameling bathtubs or installing an acrylic liner. The third option – with a glass – I consider unsuitable for the following reasons: the epoxy material of glass is literally poured into the bath, forming a thick layer on the walls – i.e. there is no high-quality adhesion to the bathroom itself and, most likely, the stacril liner will peel off like a stocking in a couple of years. By the way, the stakril itself does not have hygienic certificates, since it was developed to protect the outer side of the bottom of boats and boats, i.e. its manufacturers cannot recommend the implementation of the restoration of bathtubs using a glass glass.

It will not be possible to install the acrylic insert on your own, if only for the reason that it is made individually for a specific bath, i.e. its installation itself requires a professional approach. In addition, if the newly installed acrylic liner cracks or comes off the walls of the cast iron bathtub, you can always ask the craftsmen who installed it. The acrylic liner is not repairable; if damaged, it must be completely replaced. The average cost of an acrylic bath insert is 2,000 rubles, with installation – about 4,000 rubles.

Now about enameling baths. The process of enameling the bath itself is described here. The question remains – what materials are needed for enameling bathtubs? The answer is: you need a 10-15% solution of oxalic acid to remove rust, putty (for example, NTs-008), abrasive nozzle for a drill, solvent No. 646, sandpaper, paint brush and two-component enamel (the second component is a hardener).

Bath enamel

Most firms that enamel bathtubs use cheaper and lower quality enamels than is really necessary. For example, they use enamels of the Finnish company “Tikkurila” under the brands “Temaline FW” (average price – 100 rubles / kg) or “Temafloor 150” (average price – 355 rubles / kg) – all these enamels are not intended for painting the inner surface of baths, their use is caused only by the desire of companies to increase their income. For the same reasons, the “German” primer-enamel brand “Opal EP-1-158” is used (average price – 155 rubles / kg), produced by the Ufa paint and varnish plant.

In reality, there are only two brands of enamels specially designed for enameling baths – two-component “Reaflex 50” (average price – 550 rubles / kg) of the Finnish company “Tikkurila” and sets for the restoration of baths “Fantasy” (average price – 620 rubles) and “Svetlana” (average price – 750 rubles) produced by the Russian company “Random House”. Restoration kits from “Rand House” are completed on an “all-inclusive” basis – they include everything you need to restore the enamel of one bathtub, i.e. repair instructions, oxalic acid aqueous solution, enamel with hardener, etc. The Reaflex 50 set consists of a kilogram can of enamel and a tube of hardener. The price of the “Fantasy” set is lower than the cost of the “Svetlana” set due to the smaller configuration in the set (it does not contain sandpaper, a paint brush and a set of tinting pastes).

In conclusion – some tips

Self-enameling of the bath will require protective equipment – rubber gloves when working with an aqueous solution of oxalic acid, a respirator when painting.

Do not try to somehow speed up the drying process of the enamel layer – only if you follow the instructions exactly, you will get high-quality enamel. Be careful when injecting hardener into the enamel, carefully measure the dosage. The full drying time of the enamel (must be at least 3 layers!) Is a full week (seven days). During this entire period, not a single drop of moisture should get on the new enamel coating, otherwise the enamel at the point of contact with water will swell.

If you already decided not to restore the bath, but to buy a new one, keep in mind that you cannot avoid repairing the bathroom. The repair will be smaller in volume if the bathroom is in a private house, and complete if in an apartment. In the second case, the reason for the complete repair will be the need to demolish one of the walls of the room, otherwise it will not be possible to install a new bathtub (it will also be difficult to remove the old bathtub, but at least it can be broken into pieces with a sledgehammer).