Restoration of Clawfoot Bathtubs
and Period Sinks
Some items furnish a room,
others define it.
All that is needed is the silhouette and the mind fills in the rest of the room.
That's "defining".
However, that's just a silhouette...and it could be a silhouette of a poorly refinished bathtub with dust and drips in the paint. It could be a silhouette of a tub that's peeling and unhygienic.
All good design starts with the foundation. In the same way that the bathtub defines the room, the process of restoration defines the longevity of the bathtub's appeal as the defining anchor in the design.
Just the silhouette is an icon of luxury.
It's ubiquitous to longings of self indulgence tinged with fragrant oils, candlelight, chilled wine, Egyptian cotton, and boutique soaps stored in discarded boxes from Tiffany and Cartier.
It's an Art Nouveau sculpture with flowing lines and romance and is a pleasure to the aesthetic senses.
It is the stuff that dreams are made of.
It doesn't furnish a room,
it defines it.
It's Art
It's months of work and thousands of dollars.
It's luxury
- and you don't need it.
Separate refinishing services have separate charges
Each service item takes studio time, skilled labour, material resources, and management to perform. The average turn-around time in the studio to strip and refinish both the interior and exterior of a standard 5 foot tub and paint the feet is 2 -3 weeks.
That's four separate projects:
* Strip the paint,
* Refinish the interior,
* Refinish the exterior, and
* Refinish the feet.
The Exterior Surface
Refinishing the exterior surface
The exterior finish is typically under-valued in the approach to its application and too often quality is sacrificed in exchange for a lower price.
Quality, in this case, is defined by the durability and longevity of the coating system. The primary requirement for all coating systems is a chemically clean and physically solid surface for long term adhesion. To that end, all existing coatings need to be removed and the cast iron chemically treated for rust abatement.
Joy of St Croix offers three different exterior design options in our standard full restoration of clawfoot bathtubs.
Scuro, Chiaro, Sprezzatura, and Monotona. All of them involve sandblasting, applying Duratec, and fairing with the same attention as the interior.
Custom colours, patterns, and Art work are available at additional costs and require a studio consultation.
The Interior Surface
Refinishing the interior surface
The final finish mirrors what's underneath it. If the porcelain is rough and pitted, like almost every antique bathtub is, the final finish will be, too. Our process starts with etching the porcelain to remove deeply ingrained contaminants and provide a reliable mechanical adhesion. The drain area, the overflow and faucet holes, and the rolled rim's edge is ground to the metal, thus aggressively removing rust and to provide a solid foundation for these critical areas. The first layer of the coating is a Duratec vinylester primer which is remarkably dense - so much so that when fully cured it can be tapped and died (i.e. it can be threaded to receive a machine screw). All of the ground areas in addition to chips, gouges, and rough porcelain are filled in by the Duratec primer without any fairing agent between the foundation coating and the substrate. The shaping process now begins with sanding and fairing the Duratec to sculpt the rolled rim and the interior curves that will eventually result in an unbroken reflection in the final finish.
In the next stage an epoxy primer is applied that will provide a proper adhesion of the acrylic urethane color top coat. The epoxy primer is sanded and inspected for any final fairing and the first of the color coats is applied.
The acrylic urethane topcoat requires a specific thickness, both for its mechanical and cosmetic performance. The topcoat is sanded and a light cursory polish affected to determine if any area requires more sculpting and fairing to produce the unbroken reflection that truly highlights the organic curves. This step is usually repeated 2 or 3 times before the unit is regarded as ready for the clear coat.
No one stage is more critical than another in regards to the final cosmetics, but the clear coat is arguably the most nerve wracking and skill intense. It may seem simple, but the clear coat reveals and highlights the surface of the topcoat and can even cast shadows of its own surface that will confound the eye. It must be free of any debris and of uniform thickness.
The final result is a deep mirror shine to the uniquely distinctive organic curves and lines that make the clawfoot bathtub an icon of bath design.
Stripping
Stripping off the old paint
Everything has a lifespan and when paint begins to fail it's the best policy to remove it completely and start from scratch. Porcelain is porous which is why it has to have a glaze to prevent water from getting to the cast iron where it will rust and push the porcelain off . That old decaying and failing paint is in those pores and needs to come out so the new coating can take its place and adhere to the porcelain. The exterior of some bathtubs may have paint from 50 - 100 years ago that contains high quantities of lead - proper removal and disposal methods including fresh air systems and chemical burn safety training is employed at the studio and on the field.
Bathtub Feet
The feet on a bathtub are the defining element of clawfoot bathtubs
A clawfoot bathtub is a creation of furniture design, and attention to this can be uniquely rewarding.
The feet can be the same colour as the exterior or as subtle or bold a contrast as your design dictates. Custom finishes, patterns, and Art work are available at additional costs and usually require a studio consultation.
monotone:
Perfectly suited for Queen Anne and Colonial styles where clean lines are sought for, custom match your colour to your design.
two-tone:
Two colours are all that's needed for subtle or bold design.
metallic:
Today's metallic coatings can create multiple effects from chrome and copper to glitters and rainbow prism effects.
decorative:
cast iron -
warm texture - a bold look
Oil rubbed cast iron has a unique look that is rarely employed in design because of the nightmare of rust. Joy of St Croix has developed a reliable and cost effective method to abate and eliminate rust growth in order to accent the uniqueness in the castings of individual clawfoot bathtub feet.
Artwork
Botteghe Cipolla
Joy of St Croix - Tub Repair and More is a division of Botteghe CIpolla. When you work with a member of the Botteghe Cipolla on your restoration project you're the conductor and we're the musicians who play the notes. You have an idea and we have to skills to make it tangible
Most of the time a customer simply wants a classic look for a clawfoot bathtub, e.g., white interior, black exterior, chrome feet. When done by Joy of St Croix that's an amazing look...and safe. Imagine a bathtub that is painted as if it were carved from a single piece of marble, with the drifts, veins, etc. matching inside and out. But what kind of marble? Will it go with your design or clash?
Placing artwork on a bathtub or sink is a bold move, it's best when it's your own move to satisfy your own design desires and you're not just following a fad. That's where a botteghe can help: you have the idea and we have the skills.
Art Nouveau pedestal sink
*no overflow ~ pre-code*
Some items are too defining of an Art-period to not devote your attention to, like this beautiful Art Nouveau morning-glory pedestal sink .
This unique antique pedestal sink was the reason for a property to fail an inspection and be thrown into a dumpster - it has no overflow. Bad news for the original design crew but great news for the person who recognised it as an opportunity to own a one of a kind defining design feature.
