bungalowbabe

Thanks Wuzzat and Bud for the info. Here's the rub: there's no way in hell I'm going to wrestle that tub outside ever again, let alone on a regular basis to recoat it myself. It's a bit beyond the point where I can do the "PorcaFix" patch job and get away with it.

What confounds me is how the original finish on these tubs is infinitely superior to any "modern" reglazing technique, and why that original process can't be replicated. Most of the old tubs I looked at before buying mine were simply abraded somewhat evenly, thanks to enthusiastic and regular cleaning with Comet, Ajax etc... The standard rust spot around the drain, but all in all the original coating remained intact.

I could have bought a "replica" tub for 2 grand but I dislike the cheap esthetics of these acrylic tubs. I love that I can pour my bath and it stays warm until I'm half asleep. I want a cast iron tub in pristine condition. And there doesn't seem to be such an animal.

Anyway, so far, the dings are accumulating closer to the drain and faucet end, so I'm not feeling the pain in the *** yet, but it's creeping in that direction. I was just making a pre-emptive strike before it gets to that point, and thanks to your collective wisdom I believe I am doomed.

Anyway, I live with my decisions and I ought to done more research in the first place. Besides, one of these days I'll be too old and gimpy to clamber over the edge of that tub anyway, and will be paying other people to wash me, so the point is moot.

Must drink wine and watch the Olympic Games recap now. Done thinking.

Cheers,
Holly

Wuzzat?

If it's a race between you and the tub, check out
Gamboa, Anthony M., Jr., Worklife Expectancy of Disabled Versus Nondisabled Persons by
Sex and Level of Educational Attainment, Louisvillel, KY: Vocational Economics Press,
1988.
to see who wins.

Each of us is the sum total of the decisions we made and make. Bummer!

How can a junior member, and a babe no less, be too old & gimpy?

Bud Cline

babe,

You brought up a good question asking how cast iron bath tubs are made. I had no idea either, you should have asked Kelebay, he knows EVERYTHING.

So...I looked it up on eHow.com and here is what I found:

Cast Iron Enamel Tubs
The cast iron is poured into a mold, heated to 1500 degrees F, then blasted with chilled iron grit. After the cleaning process is complete, acid pickling begins. Hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid are used to descale the metal and build a strong bond for the enamel. After this, a dip of nickle sulfate and Boric acid to further strengthen the enamel bond is often used. Then the tub is coated and dipped again in a neutralizing solution made from soda ash and borax to remove the acids and prevent rust. After all these rinses, the cast iron tub is dried quickly and enameled.
The Enameling Process
For dry enamel, the tubs are heated to the melting point of the enamel, which is then dusted onto the tub in powder form. It melts on contact, then is fired in a furnace to form a slick finish similar to porcelain.

For wet enamel, tubs are dipped or sprayed with liquid enamel and then fired. The first coat is a ground coat, and after firing the tub is dipped or sprayed and fired again for the cover coat.

That would explain why the "Wham Bam Thank You Mam" (on site) paint jobs don't hold up as well as the real McCoys. Thanks for bringing it up I have learned something.

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[SIZE="1"][B][COLOR="Blue"][CENTER]Some days I aspire to becoming a missing person.[/CENTER][/COLOR][/B][/SIZE]

Wuzzat?

And if the cured enamel and cast iron don't have exactly the same
Coefficient of thermal expansion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
then sumpin's gotta' give.

And I don't think too many people are working on your problem. . .

This just in: Thanks to the miracle of the Internet, out of many candidates, I have possibly come up with a recent photo of Ms. Babe
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JKMu9gk8TsE/Sla0Ma2Sd5I/AAAAAAAAApU/EvZzojz3Kug/s320/bungalowbabe09.JPG
but the Canadian flag seems to be wrong. . .

Bud Cline

I think the Maple Leaf must be on the other side.

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[SIZE="1"][B][COLOR="Blue"][CENTER]Some days I aspire to becoming a missing person.[/CENTER][/COLOR][/B][/SIZE]

bungalowbabe

Dammit, Wuzzat! Now my CSIS disguise is out of the bag! At least that photo doesn't show my gigantic rhinestone Elvis belt buckle, so I may not have to go into hiding.

By the way, my tub wasn't recoated on site - it was "professionally" done in a shop.

Wuzzat?

What I don't get is, What is this gentlemen
http://cdn.buzznet.com/media-cdn/jj1/headlines/2008/10/oj-simpson-guilty.jpg
doing on this
"bungalow babe" - Google Search
search?

It's probably a Commie plot

Yes, where is that pesky maple leaf???

bungalowbabe

...you see what I mean... that ain't no gentleman, and I have (thanks to your timely warning) taken up residence in my basement bunker. (that's where the wine and whisky barrels are kept, there's an amazing old cast iron woodstove,a deepfreeze stocked with Haagen Dasz and I have my environmentally correct paper cup on a string communication device at hand) Oh oh, is that a Cherokee I hear idling in the driveway?

Must slap on the wig and glasses and make like I'm writing a novel.

Cheers,
Holly

Bud Cline

If it is, he must be beating on his tom-tom 'cause I don't think you can hear smoke signals.

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[SIZE="1"][B][COLOR="Blue"][CENTER]Some days I aspire to becoming a missing person.[/CENTER][/COLOR][/B][/SIZE]