How To Repair Cast Iron Tub

Read more: How to Join the Holy Roman Empire in Europa Universalis 4 Living in Seattle on a 10th grader budget means sometimes settling into a very different lifestyle than the one I lived in Missouri just a few years ago. With Seattle’s tech boom, graduate-budget housing often implies lots of roommates or micro-studios (some students I know even live in high-rise buildings). apartment, where the kitchen and bathroom are shared for the whole floor!) I was lucky to find an old apartment building in the old Seattle neighborhood, just two blocks from Pike Place Market, where I You can rent a small but not “micro” studio apartment in your price range. Despite its many drawbacks, the high ceilings and views of the Puget Sound, along with plenty of vintage charm, make it a great venue.

The Kitchen Eyesore

Contents

When I moved in, my sink had a few rust spots. Unfortunately, the kitchenette was so small that a boat kitchen appliance was required, and the company that made the sinks for my building had long since gone out of business: so there was no replacement. Most of the kitchens in my building have been “upgraded” to miniature versions of commercial kitchen appliances – stand-alone stainless steel sinks, etc. And while my apartment manager is at the ready doing “upgrade” (ugly + upgrade) thing on my apartment, I’m afraid I will lose the lovely vintage feel in my apartment which makes my space feel like home. So I decided to try fixing the old cast iron sink in my apartment kitchen. The farm at Hawk Hill House has a vintage-style sink in the basement that has been badly damaged. I’ve always wanted to fix it up and bring it up for installation in the mudroom but I’ve never been on the project – always afraid I’d make the damaged sink look worse than it already is. Commercial estimates to repair damage to that farmhouse sink ranged up to $400, so that lovely old sink remained in the basement until I sold the property in 2016. – I could try fixing the rust on my cast iron sink, or I could give up and let the condominium management drop an ugly modern sink into my 120 year old apartment.

To fix my sink I just need a few items

- metal filler
- epoxy sink paint
- citric acid
- fine sand paper
- and an easy-to-remove piece of tape to keep the epoxy from sticking to the counter (I actually used contact paper to secure my counter)

Two essential supplies make this a quick DIY: Read more: How to Join the Holy Roman Empire in Europa Universalis 4

Step 1: Remove Rust from Sink:

The first step is to clean the sink and scrub the rusty parts. I used a toothbrush to clean around and IN the rusty parts, removing any and all loose debris. Food grade citric acid can be helpful to remove rusty parts without scrubbing, simply mix powdered citric acid with a little hot water, dissolve and saturate the rusted area. Ideally you could get rid of all the rust for a “perfect fix”, but if you just want to get rid of the cast iron sink a few more years with a death wish, you can give it a go, leave some rust and hopefully will need to repeat this process or replace it eventually. Read more: how to tell if your leopard chameleon is constipatedRead more: How to join the Holy Roman Empire in Europa Universalis 4

Step 2: Let dry and protect surrounding surfaces

After your rust has been de-rusted as much as possible, let it dry completely from the water used in the cleaning process and cover with a coat to protect your countertop. Finished contact paper as an easy way to protect large surfaces from any paint or epoxy getting lost. Similar to pasting decorations in a room before painting, protecting surrounding surfaces both makes the job easier and ensures a better finish.Read more: How to join the Holy Roman Empire in Europa Universalis 4

Step 3: Insert Metal Filler

Before the exterior could be refinished, I needed to fill in the gaps in the gaps where the rest had eaten through the porcelain and cast iron. Thankfully, I’m not the first to need to patch and fill in corroded metal – and this Devcon epoxy metal filler made the process a breeze. Working in about three stages – I had to let each layer dry before adding another to fill this very deep void – I was able to completely fill the hole in this rusted cast iron sink. hard as metal, and once epoxy equipment paint is added, it is equally impervious to water. It’s a great choice for do-it-yourself classic cast iron sink repairs.