Bath Resurfacing is the main service we deliver.
Simply put, resurfacing a bath is the procedure of re-coating the existing enamel of your bath in order to handle staining, worn enamel, rough enamel, chipped enamel or an unwanted existing colour.
Although we can resurface your bath in our work shop we most commonly restore the bath in-situ. Meaning we do not remove the bath or disturb the existing plumbing or tiling of the bath. And it is done in a day. We heat dry the bath so as to allow us to sand and polish the bath – The famous Rolls-Royce treatment. Your bath is ready to use again within a few hours.
Above is a Fireclay bath. We believe it is an original French Fireclay bath as the design is true to an original. Also the interior designer who asked us to restore the bath for him collected the bath from France and brought it back to the U.K. The bath quite literally weighs a ton. If you were looking at having one of these baths resurfaced and installed in your home you would need to make sure the floor could withstand it’s weight. The bath looks fantastic after resurfacing. Worn areas and chips were resolved as part of the resurfacing procedure. The finish achieved by restoring the bath is a deep, high gloss, smooth finish. The designer and his client were delighted with the finish achieved.
The idea behind Bath Resurfacing is that it is a service which restores your bath with the minimum of fuss and disruption. The quality of the finish on your bath or even bathroom suite after we have restored it ensures your bathroom is of the highest quality. And compared to ripping out your existing bath, putting in a new one and then making good the plumbing and tiling, it is a very cost effective solution.
If the bath is badly stained with lime scale deposits or has been worn and is feeling a bit rough and is getting difficult to clean, then resurfacing could be a viable option.
The main problems people voice when they contact us about having their bath re-surfaced is that:
- Their bath is hard to clean
- No matter how hard they do clean it, the bath never looks clean
- There are bad stains and lime-scale
- The bath has been chipped right back to the cast and is looking bad
- They can get the bath clean with a lot of elbow grease, but it very quickly gets dirty again
- (This one is a bit rarer) the enamel has gotten rough on the base of the bath
All of the above problems, apart from the chipping, are actually caused by the same thing: the existing enamel on the bath is getting worn and becoming rough, allowing dirt to settle into it.
Usually this only really happens to the area of enamel that gets covered in water whenever someone has a bath and the area becomes rough and worn. Some baths have an area that has constant puddling where it doesn’t drain properly. This area can get very worn.
Over time you can get a “tide-line” around the bath. Above that line the enamel is smooth, glossy and easy-to-clean. Below it the enamel is a bit rougher, stains can form and be hard to shift, dirt settles into the enamel which means the bath can look dirty all the time and the bath has lost its shine.
This is by no means all that can happen to, or be wrong with a bath. But they do seem to be the most common complaints people have about their bath.
Bath Resurfacing handles these problems by coating over the existing, worn enamel. The new coating can be any colour you want. But the main feature in relation to the problems mentioned above is that the new surface will be smooth, so dirt can’t stick to it. It is going to be very easy-to-clean, and once cleaned it will look clean, glossy and shiny.
Original Victorian cast-iron baths tend to be more desirable and more luxurious than a modern day plastic bath. With use they do tend to get quite worn. We sometimes even get baths that have been left outside for 20 years or so. Once restored however they do look fantastic and provide the finishing touch to any elegant bathroom.
The original surface an old bath or of an original old Victorian cast iron bath is not completly smooth and flat. It undulates & can have markedly raised areas & valleys. Also the bath can have hundreds of pin holes. THese are areas where during the enamelling process many tiny bubbles or holes have formed.
These were formed in the manufaqcturing of the bath & are really all part of the character and of what makes an old bath special and unique.
Modern baths tend to be very smooth and flat.
When an older bath is resurfaced a lot of these defects become noticeable for the first time in years.
All that has happened is that the original surface was probably very matt & did not reflect any light whatsoever. So the defects could not be seen as although it was not smooth and flat the bath surface looked like it was due to the matt finish.
When the bath is resurfaced the bath ends up with a deep, high gloss finish which is very reflective. So any undulations can now be seen and the pin holes.
Although these undulations are now visible, there is no reason to be concerned. This is just part of what makes an old bath unique. It does not affect the longevity of the resurfaced bath in any way.
If the bath has a lot of pin holes the technician will do his utmost to fill them before we resurface the bath. Too much filling can lead to problems with adhesion so sometimes it is not possible to get rid of all the pin holes. Also occasionally there are pin holes on the side of the bath. The technician will normally leave these as they are a natural feature of the bath and if visible generally they are only visible once you sit in the bath.
The system we use to resurface baths has been tried and tested over 25 years. The products are tough and durable. We believe we have one of the fastest curing times currently available. You can use your bath again within a few hours of us finishing resurfacing it. As we heat dry the bath it is dry to the touch when we leave but we suggest leaving the bath until the next evening before use.
If you are interested in having your bath re-surfaced or just have a question about it, please call us on 020 8634 5922 or use one of the “Quick Quote” boxes to send us a question.
The Bath Business can resurface your bath or bathroom suite to ANY colour almost anywhere in the UK. Fill in the quick Quote form today or alternatively call us on 020 8634 5922 or 07974 662 827 for a free quote and further information on our services.
Whether you want an antique bath restored or a Victorian basin repaired we can help. We do also supply original Victorian Sanitary ware. contact The Bath Business. We are more than happy to help.
