The happy owners of the old cast -iron baths should understand me: the enamel erased from the walls causes a lot of inconvenience. Firstly, it is ugly. The uneven surface is clogged with dirt, it is difficult to wash it with water, and rubbing with chemistry with chemistry – this means destroying enamel even more. The white bath is gray, yellow stains appear on it, spots form. All this is very striking. Secondly, it is non-hygienic. The porous surface and constant humidity are ideal conditions for the propagation of bacteria. The bath can become a nursery of fungi and mold. Thirdly, it is unsafe. An impaired enamel layer can lead to the fact that the metal is not protected from water and air, this can lead to the formation of rust and the destruction of the bath. Well, fourthly, wet rough surface-it’s just very unpleasant! Tender heels (and other parts of the body) want to feel smoothness and purity! What to do with the old bathroom? How to update the old bath? There are options on any wallet – cover the unsightly bath with fresh enamel, update it with liquid acrylic, install an acrylic liner inside, put the surface with a mosaic or, in the end, simply replace with a new one. I chose the simplest, in my opinion, way – to update the bath enamel from the spray can: it is inexpensive and, moreover, you can cope with this on your own. Materials and tools
- Detergents (for tiles and seams)
- covering film and painting tape
- Grinding or sandpaper
- Universal degreaser
- Emanca for baths and ceramics
- Protective clothes, shoes, gloves, respirator
We clean the surfaces and get rid of the molding of the bath in my case is not limited to its painting, because there are “tired” tiles and tile seams in poor condition (blackened, with mold) around. The tile in a terrible state armed with the arsenal of household chemicals, putting on working clothes, rubber gloves and a respirator, set to work. No secret techniques – you just need to rub it well with a sponge with detergents for plumbing, treat the surfaces with a special composition from mold (sold in hardware stores), wash everything off with water and leave for drying for several hours (you can – at night). Tiles and bath were washed after washing the bathtub looks better, not all the spots are gone. And glossy shine – so far only from the water. The stripping of the glossy layer and the suture of the bathtub has dried out well, I start stripping. My task is to polish the surface in such a way that it all becomes rough. So the paint will go to bed evenly and to adhere well with the surface. If you do this with a grinder, be sure to protect the entire bathroom with a film, since the dust will rise high and settle on all surfaces. In my case, almost the entire bath was already without a glossy layer – it was not required to remove the enamel, so I decided to polish the surface manually using special bars. Bars for grinding different fractions with a small skin I processed not only the surface of the bath, but also the seam around it: I took off the thin layer of grout, it became clean and lighter. The settled dust could be washed off with water, but then I would have to dry the bath for several hours again. In order not to do this, I used a vacuum cleaner with a nozzle and removed all small particles. Now the bath was ready for degreasing and painting. We protect the bathroom from getting a paint recommendation for everyone who dares to work with aerosol paints in the room: close absolutely everything that you do not plan to paint, film or newspapers. Protect everything from floor to ceiling, because the thin layer of paint can settled on any surface, and it will be difficult to get rid of it. Be sure to protect the exit – only in protective clothing I carried out all the extra objects from the bathroom before the start of the alteration. But the walls began to cover the walls after the tile was completely dry after processing of household chemicals. The film was attached to the walls with a painting ribbon. She carefully sealed the drain hole and the perimeter of the bath – so that the paint does not affect the seams. Also, an impromptu door was built from the film so that the paint could not accidentally get beyond the bathroom. We degrease the surface in front of the painting stage before painting – degreasing the bath. Let me remind you that its surface is rough, which means a rag, and even more so the sponge moistened in a special solution, can cling to the walls, leave fibers on them, and this is undesirable. It is much more convenient – to use the remedy in aerosol form. And this was found! Smirler in the aerosol – very conveniently, I used the universal firm Vixen (the same company as the enamel itself, which I will paint the bath). It is suitable for internal work and does not have such a pungent odor as, for example, alcohol or solvent. Enerfully shook the balloon and sprayed the product over the entire surface. In less than a minute, the degor has evaporated – you can start painting. Application enhancedly, the process itself seemed to me much more complicated than it really was. I was very afraid that streams could remain during painting, and I would have to look at them every day … But to my happiness, everything went smoothly – in the literal and figurative sense. As I chose paint, a couple of months ago I saw in Leroy that a special enamel for baths and ceramics of Vixen is sold. Then, in fact, it occurred to the idea of painting my bath, since for this even such cans are provided. I learned that this coating is wear -resistant: it is not afraid of mechanical influences and is designed for daily contact with water, and this is generally the most important thing for the bath. A special enamel for baths is not necessary to primerly primerly primerly primer. The balloon shocked and began to spray enamel. The spray can kept about 25-30 cm from the walls, as indicated in the instructions. The most difficult thing was to curse the wall that was closer to me: it was necessary either to turn the cylinder upside down (but then only gas came out), or turn his hand in order to paint everything qualitatively. But even despite these inconvenience, the paint lay perfectly and did not flow anywhere. The first layer was applied to the second layer of the first spray to the first layer. The bath has noticeably transformed, became whiter and fresh, but it was still matte. Acrylic paint, quickly dry, the first layer dried in 10 minutes, and you can already apply the second. By this time, I already knew that the enamel lies neatly and evenly, and when re -coating, I already led the spray with a spray to the side so that the paint lays a thicker, glossy layer. I left the bath for 4 hours, during which time it had to completely dry. The ideal result joined the work and decided that there was no limit to perfection. The bath already looked great, shone, was smooth. But there was still a lot of colors (the second spray was left on the second layer, plus I started the third), and I wanted to additionally protect those places of the bath that are subjected to the greatest wear. These are sides and bends – they were the most rough, because the enamel was erased there for a very long time. Therefore, I spent the rest of the paint on them. It turned out perfectly! It is important to say glossy sides that Vixen bath enamel is also good in that it can be painted right in the room (dismantled a bath overlapped with a tile, and you will not be transferred to the street for painting). Yes, there is a smell of paint, but it is not so caustic. I worked in the respirator, as expected, and tried not to linger in the room for more than a few minutes. But it is still noticeable that the paint does not smell very much, but it disappears quickly. The bath remained to dry overnight. In the morning, all the protective films were removed – my poor -quality work on shelter became noticeable. Before the postponed, the paint was wiped with a solvent. Final strokes – and here is the result! The result is what beauty! To be honest, I even regretted that I did not immediately connect the sink to the alteration: against the backdrop of a new white neighbor, she now looks very dull. Additional options between the bathroom and tiles are a seam from an ordinary grout. She is colored, I didn’t do anything with her, I left it as it is. After stripping with the skin and processing from mold, everything looks decent. But for those who are worried about this seam, I can offer two ideas.
- Break the seam paint. The stores sell special paint in the form of a marker. Such a “pencil” is very convenient to paint the seams without touching the tile itself. The paint is moisture -resistant.
- Make the seam with a silicone sealant. It will look fresh, white, and also protect against leaks and clusters of dirt.
Good luck in your repair undertakings!
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