Page:Cyclopedia of Painting-Armstrong, George D (1908).djvu/258



The method for painting an ordinary room is the plan which is followed in most cases of painting. The method of painting a bath tub, however, is an entirely different one. The wear and tear of an ordinary bath tub is very great; the heat of the water is in itself very trying to any paint or enamel, especially when, as often happens, the water is allowed to enter the bath in a nearly boiling state, there to mingle with the colder water. It will be a hint of value to know that the hotter the water the greater is the wear and tear on the paint material, and this whether the bath tub is of the highest quality or is of a cheaper make. But apart from the heat of the water, the soap and grease which abounds in the bath room is in itself a means of destruction to the paint. In renovating an old bath tub, the proper plan would be to have it taken out and sent to an enamelling firm, who paint it in a special manner and with a special paint, which is known as baking enamel. This is a description of paint specially made for articles to be placed in a stove of high heat whence the enamel is greatly hardened. The trouble and expense, however, of taking a bath tub out and sending it away in this manner is very great and many, therefore, prefer to paint their own bath tubs, if even they have to repeat the operations every spring.

The first thing to be done is to thoroughly clean the surface and this, as in all operations of repainting, is very important. At the risk of being tedious the necessity of getting every portion of the surface absolutely clean before the paint is applied must be emphasized, and in this case it must be added absolutely dry also. Sometimes the faucets of the bath tub leak a little; if so this must be stopped before the repainting is commenced, otherwise the job is