Restoring Enamel Bath & Sink

binnie

Hi, I have a pink bath, loo and basin and would dearly love to change it, but can't afford it.
The bath set is enamel/porcelain and has a very large greyish stain in it.
It's not dirty, it just looks like water stained or something like that.
The basin has a grey scuff in it which is quite large and we don't know how it got there.
It looks like a footprint but isn't and whatever I do to clean it, it won't come off.
I looked at prices of just getting the bath re-enamelled but it was very costly, well over £200.

My husband prefers this type of bath as he says it is sturdier than the plastic ones, but everytime I look at it, I feel it looks grubby and dirty and feel ashamed when people call round and use the bathroom.

Does anybody know of any reasonably priced ways I can get rid of the stains please.

pruney

Have you tried vinegar in case it is a limescale stain? I had a big blue stain on my white bath when I bought this house and thought it was from washing paintbrushes out but my sister in law saw it and said it was a limescale stain from the tap leaking, I put some vinegar soaked kitchen towel on it and it had come off completely by the next day.
Might be worth a try, shouldn't make it any worse.

amarg

A bath rubber should work on the sink- http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?cId=101757&ts=46107&id=79117

Might also work on the bath, you would have to try it!

binnie

Hi, We don't have hard water or even get a build up of Limescale to be honest.
The rubber sounds a good idea and I will purchase one, thanks for that link amarg.:beer:

MyRubyRed

Hi Binnie
I had your problem with a beautiful big enamel bath we inherited when we moved in here. Could not shift stains for love nor money. We got a guy out to resurface the bath. It lasted about a year then peeled off. Was advised to send bath to a specialist. Resorted to replacing it with a metal bath from B&Q. Its not as good as the orig but far better than plastic (and original had to be smashed with a sledgehammer to get it out of the house. )

binnie

Ours isn't that beautiful Ruby, it looks like a pink plastic bath but is made of enamel, and has a plastic bath end on it as we couldn't get anything else.
I think the whole bathrooom needs smashing up really.

We did decorate the walls a bit and bought new curtains to titivate it up a bit, but it still spoils it with the grubby bath.

binnie

A big thanks to Amarg for recommending me to screwfix. I ordered the bath rubber you mentioned and it came in a massive box a few days after.
At the time I didn't think there was anything in the box as I didn't realise screwfix hide their goods and put them under some other cardboard inside the large box.
I rang them and said there wasn't anything in the box only an invoice, the lady on the phone ordered me another free of charge and despatched it a day later.
On further inspection, I lifted up this hidden room to the box and found the first rubber, oops. Now I have two

Anyway the scuff came off the basin within seconds, and I am slowly restoring the bath bit by bit. It is taking a lot of hard work and scrubbing, but slowly and surely, it's looking better.

That will save us a fortune in buying a new bathroom suite

Thanks