Clawfoot Tub Revival on a Budget

Last summer my husband and I purchased a 100 year old Craftsman farmhouse in the country. It was begging for someone to rescue it as the previous owner

had not used the house in a few years and it sat there sadly in neglect.

It was speaking to me. All this history it had lived through -  Al Capone had frequently visited the lake. A farmer's family for many generations, had lived here and endured through the Great

The quaint little Craftsmen cottage

Depression living off the land and renting out small boats to local fishermen. His now towering Maple trees, I felt wanted to whisper me secrets of the past. This house was nicknamed by locals as the "Blessing" house after the original farmer's last name and its quaintness and small details made me fall in love.

When we were looking at the house, my heart started palpitating when I saw the bathroom. There in its sad state was an antique, cast iron, claw foot bathtub. My husband, quickly stated that the tub would need to be replaced and I quickly retorted, "Noooooooo, I must revive it"! After all, a lot of women love the romantic notion a claw foot tub entails, myself included.

My husband sighed and has a lot of patience towards my antics. So he

The project at hand

then wisely delegated it as "my project". I had to figure out how to fix it in a cheap and economical way. Hmmmn, consider myself handy? Nope! But a good challenge had never stopped me before.

I went out to Home Depot and asked the salesperson how to resurface a bathtub. I could not keep it in the condition it was in. The white paint had worn away and left behind it was nasty rust stains and dark spots.


The answer to refinishing was inexpensive and something I could attempt to do

The end result

myself. It was the Homax Tough as Tile One Part Epoxy Aerosol Kit. I bought the necessary tools to go with it. TSP cleaner had been recommended and I took the steel wool pad included and started scrubbing. I followed the directions on the box and it was pretty easy to use. Definitely cover the surrounding area with protection and take your time with the spray part as it can be tricky. I would suggest that you cover each area with a light spray and cover with layers. Over a period of 48 hours the tub's new enamel had cured. Voila, the tub looked as good as new! Our claw foot was ready for bathing, with romantic daydreams and bubbles for all.