Claw feet restoration

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MJ1987
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Claw feet restoration

Post by MJ1987 »

Hi all,

I'm on the verge (a relative term, of course) of getting the only bathroom back together. The clawfoot bathtub I have needs a good repaint on the outside, but the inside looks like the PO's had bad hygiene, because it hardly looks used! Nonetheless, I'm at a crossroads with the claw feet. I've stripped all the paint to reveal some nice details that had been painted over, but I'm toying with two ideas about the finish work. My old-house-friendly plumber says I should get them chrome plated and firmly believes many tubs back in the day had such lavish feet. Upon stripping these, it's very obvious that they'd never been plated. In fact, they look like they started white, got a later coat of black, and then 3 more coats of white over the years. I find all of this fascinating because the tub is like-new, yet the feet appear to have been through the ringer... :think:

The short question is, what would y'all do with the feet? My house is a Colonial Revival with Arts & Crafts influence and was clearly a working man's (or woman's) home. No lavish details with the exception of some really nice trim. The fixtures in the original bathroom included a white wall-hung sink and white pedestal tub (since removed and swapped with the clawfoot since the pedestal was in rough shape). I want the room to be period: nice, clean, but not lavish. My intention is to give the outside of the tub a coat of green paint and the feet a coat of silver to match the radiator. I feel like chrome is just too much--and potentially a PITA to keep shiny and clean.

Thoughts?
Matt


I built a chimney for a comrade old;
I did the service not for hope or hire:
And then I travelled on in winter’s cold,
Yet all the day I glowed before the fire.


-Edwin Markham

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Mick_VT
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Re: Claw feet restoration

Post by Mick_VT »

absolutely, mopst definitely do not chrome plate! A contrasting color to the tub looks nice - I used a similar color on my tub to that which I sued on the walls (slightly different shade of light tan), then painted the feet satin black - they stand out nicely and look period appropriate. I have only ever seen chromed ones on modern tubs
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Re: Claw feet restoration

Post by 1918ColonialRevival »

Claw feet are cast iron and should be painted, not plated. I'd hit them with a couple of coats of automotive filler primer, then an enamel of the color of your choice. The color scheme of the feet having a different color than the body of the tub is a relatively recent phenomenon, but I've seen some combinations that look good.

After painting, it wouldn't hurt to hit them with a coat of clear automotive lacquer for protection.

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Re: Claw feet restoration

Post by Mick_VT »

You can skip the multiple steps if you paint the feet with Rustoleum
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nhguy
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Re: Claw feet restoration

Post by nhguy »

I sanded the outside of my wife's clawfoot tub, primed it with oil fresh start primer, then top coated with a satin oil based paint. We've had installed two years so far it looks good. One tip I learned was tapping the feet on the tub with a rubber or wood mallet to seat them solid on the tapered castings. Yours may have bolts so forget the last part.

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Re: Claw feet restoration

Post by Manalto »

Recent phenomenon or not, who's to say an individual homeowner 100 years ago wouldn't get the notion to paint the claw feet a color different from the tub? I think there are many combinations that would look good but would stay away from metallic paints.

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Re: Claw feet restoration

Post by Lily left the valley »

The apartment we moved out of had wallpaper wrapped around the body that matched wallpaper (modern pattern) above the beadboard. The feet where the same white as the tub beneath the paper.

In another older home I lived in one semester in undergrad, the feet were a dull silver, likely leftover radiator paint from the look of it, and they didn't do the filler primer as Rev suggested, so you could see all the pits in the cast.

The only time I've seen two tone feet myself is when they are the ball and claw style, and the ball either matches the tub, or is the contrast, same for the claw/leg, matches or contrast.
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Re: Claw feet restoration

Post by phil »

In order to chrome stuff you have to polish it first. any fine scratches from sanding will show in the chrome job. The feet will be cast iron and polishing them would be very difficult due to the shape so forget that.

I'd just strip the paint they have and start over with your favorite color of auto enamel. Rustoleum or any other acrylic enamel s fine , Yea you can use a sandable primer if you want to sand them a little and fill some of the pits.

I find that all the simulated chrome in a can ones are usually cheap looking and disappointing, but there are colors that could work like some of the gold colors.

seems lie you proved white is original, that might be good paint so when you strip them don't worry if that stays on there, it's a good base.

I wouldn't loose any sleep over the color. Do what you like. If anyone complains they can paint them the color they want them..

try to get all the bits if you are repainting , any exposed iron may leave rust marks on the flooring so don't go cheap with the paint. I'd make sure the bolts don't have the same issue. maybe paint those too or replace them with plated ones if they don't show.

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MJ1987
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Re: Claw feet restoration

Post by MJ1987 »

phil wrote:In order to chrome stuff you have to polish it first. any fine scratches from sanding will show in the chrome job. The feet will be cast iron and polishing them would be very difficult due to the shape so forget that.

I'd just strip the paint they have and start over with your favorite color of auto enamel. Rustoleum or any other acrylic enamel s fine , Yea you can use a sandable primer if you want to sand them a little and fill some of the pits.

I find that all the simulated chrome in a can ones are usually cheap looking and disappointing, but there are colors that could work like some of the gold colors.

seems lie you proved white is original, that might be good paint so when you strip them don't worry if that stays on there, it's a good base.

I wouldn't loose any sleep over the color. Do what you like. If anyone complains they can paint them the color they want them..

try to get all the bits if you are repainting , any exposed iron may leave rust marks on the flooring so don't go cheap with the paint. I'd make sure the bolts don't have the same issue. maybe paint those too or replace them with plated ones if they don't show.


Thanks, Phil. For the record, I *never* believed clawfeet were ever nickel-plated. My plumber is a knowledgable guy when it comes to radiators, but not much else re: old houses. That's not to knock him, but perhaps to give myself a bit of a pat on the back. I've done a lot of reading, research, and real-life salvage over the years--I'm starting to feel like I need to finally trust my own knowledge.

As for the feet, I think I'm going to match them to the radiator. I cooked them in the crock pot for something like three or four days and took a scraper and steel toothbrush to them. They came out immaculate. They're even stamped "Essex" on the back, most likely a casting mark for the largest foundry in Newark, NJ back in the day. I love that they're cast just a few miles from the house. As per Lily, they'll likely dull out over time with the radiator and the metallic paint (sorry Manalto) will "patina"...or just age ;-)
Matt


I built a chimney for a comrade old;
I did the service not for hope or hire:
And then I travelled on in winter’s cold,
Yet all the day I glowed before the fire.


-Edwin Markham

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Re: Claw feet restoration

Post by phil »

we've got one of those tubs at my parents summer place. I keep wanting to bring it home.. one day I tried to pick it up thinking maybe I could put it on the roof racks.. lol now I've had a lot of weight on roof racks, I drive an old volvo (reference to the old car ad with volvos stacked up about 10 high and not caving in) but it quickly became evident that half baked plan just wasn't going to happen. ;-)

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