The Tub Doctor: A Journey to Restore a Nearly 100-Year-Old Porcelain Tub

Enchris Beeler, affectionately known as "the tub doctor," is working on our porcelain tub today. These tubs are truly worth saving, and Enchris's expertise will bring them back to their former glory. Not only are they nearly 100 years old, but they're also made better than the reproductions that many people settle for. With the right care and restoration, these vintage tubs can look like new again.

Enchris has already made a great start on our project by applying a shrink wrap to protect the surface of the tub. He's also had the sub-sandblasted primer applied, which will help to smooth out any rough spots. Next, he'll apply one coat of the customer's special order color, which is called "Shadow." Enchris received the code from the customer and was able to match it perfectly. With a little bit of paint, this tub can look like new in no time.

So, how do you make an old porcelain tub look brand new again? The process begins with using an etch and paste, which will clean up the surface and dull it slightly. This will help the paint adhere better and create a smooth finish. Once the etching is complete, Enchris will apply a glaze to fill in any minor scratches or imperfections. He's also pointing out that there's a pretty good chip around the drain, which he'll need to make worse before he can fix it.

To remove the loose porcelain from around the drain, Enchris starts by scraping and sanding off the paint that's splattered onto the tub from outside. Next, he removes the damaged porcelain to prepare for filling and making it look new again. Safety equipment is essential in this process, as Enchris wants to ensure that everything is done correctly.

The etching paste is made from a mixture of hydrofluoric acid, flour, and water. Chris rubs the paste with a kitchen scrubby to achieve the desired surface texture. The goal is to make the paint stick well and create a smooth finish. With safety equipment in place, Enchris continues with the next steps.

After applying the etching paste, Enchris dries off the tub with a towel and mixes up some glaze to start filling in the minor scratches. He's also working on fixing the scratches near the drain, as this area requires a stronger mixture due to its proximity to plumbing work. A different type of filler compound is used for the remaining scratches around the edges.

With a clear vision of what he wants to achieve, Enchris uses an electric sander to knock down the filler with coarse paper, followed by finer grit sandpaper to achieve a smooth finish. He applies a gray two-part epoxy primer coat, which is then left to dry for about 15 minutes before applying a urethane glaze.

The final result is nothing short of stunning. Chris has applied three coats of white, and the tub looks brand new – almost too good to be true! It's clear that Enchris has outdone himself with this restoration job.

As we continue on our project, we'll be seeing the buffing process come together to add a final touch of shine to the newly restored tub. With its rich history and beauty, this porcelain tub is set to become a crown jewel in any bathroom. We can't wait to see it finished!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enchris beeler is the tub doctor he's working on our tub today so chris are these tubs worth saving yes they are why um they're nearly 100 years old and they're made way better than the repros right and you can bring them right back to make them look like new i can make this look like brand new all right so you got a shrink wrapped here i see what's going on there yeah we've had the sub sandblasted primer and i applied one coat of the customer's special order color and they were looking for like a purple right it's called shadow they emailed me the code and i got it and i slapped it on there all right so how do you make this look like new again we're gonna use an etch and paste which will clean it up and uh it'll make it dull yeah and then we've got a glaze that will fill these minor scratches good one more thing to point out um around the drain here there's a pretty good chip i got to make it worse before i can make it better okay so you'll get that looking good then you'll etch it all and you'll glaze it right then you spray it yes right you need my help maybe later i'll watch you all right i'm out of the way thanks first he scrapes and sands the loose paint that's splattered from the outside so next we're going to remove this loose porcelain from around the drain so we can fill it and make it look new again etching is done with a paste made from hydrofluoric acid flour and water chris rubs the paste with a kitchen scrubby he wants the surface dull so the paint will stick safety equipment is important all right all right so how does it look looks great it's really not a bad cup to start with other than the drain look at all that rust has gone that looks great yeah all right so what's next i dry it up with a towel and mix up some glaze and start filling all these minor scratches cool still don't want my help maybe later next he mixes filler compound to fix the scratches near the drain it needs to be strong because the plumber works in this area a different mixture fills minor scratches on the rest of the tub cracks around the edges get a small amount most of the scratches are in the bottom they get the most attention still scratches battle scarves from over the years an electric sander knocks down the filler with a coarse paper a finer grit is used by hand for a smooth finish the primer coat is a gray two-part epoxy it's sprayed on then left to dry for about 15 minutes finally a urethane glaze goes on chris is a perfectionist the picasso of porcelain tubs he applies three coats of white wow chris this looks brand new beautiful thanks great so all three coats are on yeah anything more you got to do to it oh yeah tomorrow we're seeing the buff it out okay just to show off a little so before you know it's going to be at our project thanks for your great work thank you thanks my friend it feels like i want to touch it thanks for watching this whole house has got a video for just about every home improvement project so be sure to check out the others and if you like what you see click on the subscribe button make sure that you get our newest videos right in your feedchris beeler is the tub doctor he's working on our tub today so chris are these tubs worth saving yes they are why um they're nearly 100 years old and they're made way better than the repros right and you can bring them right back to make them look like new i can make this look like brand new all right so you got a shrink wrapped here i see what's going on there yeah we've had the sub sandblasted primer and i applied one coat of the customer's special order color and they were looking for like a purple right it's called shadow they emailed me the code and i got it and i slapped it on there all right so how do you make this look like new again we're gonna use an etch and paste which will clean it up and uh it'll make it dull yeah and then we've got a glaze that will fill these minor scratches good one more thing to point out um around the drain here there's a pretty good chip i got to make it worse before i can make it better okay so you'll get that looking good then you'll etch it all and you'll glaze it right then you spray it yes right you need my help maybe later i'll watch you all right i'm out of the way thanks first he scrapes and sands the loose paint that's splattered from the outside so next we're going to remove this loose porcelain from around the drain so we can fill it and make it look new again etching is done with a paste made from hydrofluoric acid flour and water chris rubs the paste with a kitchen scrubby he wants the surface dull so the paint will stick safety equipment is important all right all right so how does it look looks great it's really not a bad cup to start with other than the drain look at all that rust has gone that looks great yeah all right so what's next i dry it up with a towel and mix up some glaze and start filling all these minor scratches cool still don't want my help maybe later next he mixes filler compound to fix the scratches near the drain it needs to be strong because the plumber works in this area a different mixture fills minor scratches on the rest of the tub cracks around the edges get a small amount most of the scratches are in the bottom they get the most attention still scratches battle scarves from over the years an electric sander knocks down the filler with a coarse paper a finer grit is used by hand for a smooth finish the primer coat is a gray two-part epoxy it's sprayed on then left to dry for about 15 minutes finally a urethane glaze goes on chris is a perfectionist the picasso of porcelain tubs he applies three coats of white wow chris this looks brand new beautiful thanks great so all three coats are on yeah anything more you got to do to it oh yeah tomorrow we're seeing the buff it out okay just to show off a little so before you know it's going to be at our project thanks for your great work thank you thanks my friend it feels like i want to touch it thanks for watching this whole house has got a video for just about every home improvement project so be sure to check out the others and if you like what you see click on the subscribe button make sure that you get our newest videos right in your feed\n"