Acryl, enamel and liner for bath restoration

If your old cast-iron bath is already damaged and spotted, you do not need to buy a new one, spending a lot of money on it. Today, there are many opportunities to restore the old plumbing fixture. Modern materials can return the bath to its original attractive appearance. Acryl, enamel and liner for bath restoration are the main methods of its restoration. Let's consider each of them in more detail.

Use for the restoration of enamel

The oldest and traditional method of repairing old damaged plumbing is to cover it with a new layer of enamel. The disadvantage of this method is its excessive duration, which is due to the need for thorough preparation of the surface. The very color of the enamel of the chosen type and shade occurs quickly enough. Modern enamel is of different shades, therefore, with a little effort, you can get a bath of pink, blue, light green or any other color.

This method has undisputed advantages:

• The coloration of the old bath enamel is the cheapest of all methods.
• There is no need for any dismantling and removal of the siphon.
• The color itself does not take much time, because to fully cover the prepared bath enamel will take no more than one hour.

Cons of the method:

• With yellowing of white enamel occurs.
• The enamel coating is quite sensitive to shock.
• Too time-consuming preparatory stage, during which you have to remove the old coating with sandpaper.
• No enamel can hide the significant defects in the bath surface.

The costs of carrying out restoration work using this method can be from $ 50 to $ 100, including spending on consumables to remove surface defects.

enamel. The order of the restoration works is as follows:

• Carrying out preliminary works, including surface cleaning from the original coating with sandpaper.
• Coating of the ground surface with a primer.
• Painting the bath in three layers. It should be remembered that before applying the next layer, you need to wait 20 minutes for the previous one to dry. And the whole process should not stretch for more than an hour. Otherwise, the coating will become unusable.
• For complete drying of the restored bath it takes 1 day, but pour water and start using the plumbing device only after five days.

Refurbished in this way the bath will serve you faithfully for more than a year.

What are the advantages of

acrylic bathtubs One of the simplest and most convenient methods of bath restoration is to repair it with acrylic. Today this is the most preferred method, since it does not require any special knowledge and skills. Acrylic is called a special flowing plastic, which is simply poured over the inner surface of the bath. Begin to do this from above along the entire perimeter, gradually falling closer to the bottom.

The advantages of the acrylic method are as follows:

• The repair technology is very simple, and the plastic dries out in just 36 hours. After that, the use of the bath is no longer limited to
• This method of restoration is very reliable, since it does not involve any interlayer between cast iron and acrylic.
• Over time, the acrylic surface does not turn yellow. It can be treated with any detergents alkali and powders, without forming scuffs and cracks.

Acrylic application:

• Restoration is possible only with the drain siphon removed.
• Coating with acrylic should be done very carefully, since the slightest defects become very noticeable on the surface after complete drying.

From an economic point of view, the procedure for restoring a bath with acrylic will cost about the same as for a restoration with enamel, that is about 50 - 100 cu. Since in this case it is necessary to remove the siphon and, most likely, its replacement with a new one, then this cost should be added to this.

The acrylic is installed in the following order:

• During the preparatory work, the old bath surface is completely cleaned.
• The drainage siphon is completely removed.
• Painting is done completely without using brushes. You just have to cover the inside surface of the bath with acrylic, pouring the plastic on the edges and letting it flow down the walls to the bottom.
• After applying acrylic, wait at least 36 hours before the restoration is complete. After that, it is possible to start fully using the updated bath.

Advantages and features of the acrylic liner

There is an even simpler method of restoring the old bath. For this, a liner is used, which exactly repeats the shape of the inner surface. It is made of all of the same acrylic. To install this liner in its place is not difficult:

• An old bathtub needs to be measured and purchased an acrylic liner, which is most accurate in size and shape to suit your bath.
• It is inserted inside the cast iron and is adhered with a special mounting foam, which additionally also has thermal insulation properties.
• The glued insert is filled with water and left for a day. During this time, the insert will take the form of your bath.

Such a simple restoration is easy to do by yourself, for it there is no need for special knowledge. The service life of the acrylic liner is approximately 15 years.

Advantages of this method:

• The restoration of a bath with an acrylic liner makes it possible to create a much stronger, externally attractive, durable coating than with conventional enamel.
• Over time, acrylic plastic is not covered with yellowness, which allows a very long time to maintain an attractive appearance.
• After completing the work, we get a perfectly flat surface, hiding under the liner all the irregularities and drawbacks of cast iron.
• There is no need to somehow especially prepare the bath surface. You do not need to remove the old enamel, just remove the exfoliated areas and clean them.

To the disadvantages of the method, we refer the following:

• Not every old cast-iron bathtub can be perfectly matched with a suitable liner.
• Acrylic liners are not suitable for installation in steel baths. Before you start repairing using an acrylic plastic liner, make sure that your bathtub is made of cast iron, not steel or light cast iron.
• At installation it is necessary to dismantle a drain siphon, which is installed in place after the end of work. This process increases the duration and laboriousness of repair.
• The insert is installed on a special foam, which, if not properly used, will simply become unstuck.
• Restoration of this type can only be applied to open baths that can not be walled.

The cost of the plastic liner is not very high, but the repair consists of several stages. The liner will cost about 80 - 120 cu. But you also need to order the services of the meter, which will accurately calculate what shape and dimensions you need, this procedure costs about $ 10.Dismantling the drain siphon is also not free. If you yourself do not know how to do this, you will have to pay about $ 15 more. If the bath is embedded in a tile, you need to dismantle it, which will increase your costs.

The installation work for the liner should be carried out in the following order:

• Initially, the surface of the bath is cleaned of visible contaminants.
• The old waste siphon is dismantled.
• A special foam is applied to the inner surface of the cast-iron bath, on which the liner is glued.
• In the bath pour to the top of the cold water and leave it for a day.
• After that, the water is drained.
• A hole is cut in the liner under the siphon, which is installed in place.

Materials required for restoration:

• Suitable acrylic insert.
• Special adhesive mounting foam.

Features of care for the restored bathroom

To ensure that the restoration has been completely successful, and the old cast-iron bath has served the maximum number of years, it is necessary to ensure correct and competent care after finishing the work.

Here are the basic rules that will allow you to keep the bath in excellent technical condition for as long as possible:

• You can wash the renewed capacity only with a soft sponge, using special detergents, laundry soap or a quality synthetic detergent. The main thing is not to use detergents, which contain all kinds of abrasive substances.
• Restored old bathtubs are subject to a restriction such as a prohibition on soaking linen in them, since long-term detergent effects can damage the enamel of
• . When using a bath for its intended purpose, it is first necessary to pour cold water, and only then dilute it hot to the desired temperature,since too hot water is also harmful to the renewed coating.
• Strong impacts and other significant mechanical loads and impacts on the restored cast iron bath are not allowed, as the new coating can quickly deteriorate.
• It is not recommended to pour boiling water in an updated bath.

If all the above rules are properly followed, the restoration will be successful and the bath will last a long time. The minimum period of use of the renewed bath is at least 10 years.

It is not so difficult to restore an old worn bath, as many believe. This can be done in the usual way, by applying a new enamel. However, it is much more correct today to use liquid acrylic or a liner. Each method has its pluses and minuses, and the choice is to make you. In any case, the cost of a new bath is an order of magnitude higher than the cost of any restoration work of the old device.