Covering a Multitude of Sins

Every time I walk into our house, I swoon over the wonders a coat of paint can do. In the four months that we have owned this house, a lot has changed and honestly, most of the changes involved paint in some form. 

In our house, paint has covered floors, wallpaper, cigarette-smoke damage, a tub, and a sink. It has hidden sooo much ugliness in a cost effective way. Thank goodness paint exists. I honestly think it has saved my sanity. 

I have a few paint-related things to show you today. Jonathan and I worked hard this past week.  Isn't that the best feeling? Seeing that checklist get smaller and smaller? As we inch closer and closer to our move-in date, we get more and more anxious to get things done. Heck, last week we even worked at the house until 9:30 one night, trying to finish up a bunch of things. I know that doesn't seem very late, but when you don't eat dinner until after you get home, your tummy insists that's waaay late. 

This past week we finished up the paint in the kitchen and started putting the doors back on the lower cabinets. 

We also finished painting the dining room ceiling, the trim, and we put one coat of color on the walls. I was so excited to get this color up. We chose Pistachio by Benjamin Moore. It was the perfect grellow color. 

Now, the color isn't reading that great in the pictures because of the poor lighting (we have very little overhead lighting and it has been overcast lately), but in reality it reads the perfect shade of yellow-green. When I walk into the house and see this color, I'm instantly happy. It's such a cheery color and reads really well with the gray from the kitchen.  

The last thing we accomplished this weekend was "painting" the tub and sink. Last week, we moved the tub into its place in our bathroom, but before we could finish plumbing it, and the sink for that matter, we had to re-coat the inside. 

Remember their sad, rust-covered state?

They needed a little TLC to say the least. So, Jonathan grabbed a DIY kit from Home Depot and went to work. Following the box's instructions, first, he had to wipe down the tub/sink with a solution that consisted of water with an additive meant to wipe off all the dirt and grime. Then he had to steel wool the whole surface that he was going to be spraying. This process had to be done three times. 

Then, after drying down the tub and sink, he began to spray. The directions specifically told him to do two thin coats. No more, no less. Once he was done with the two coats, I asked if he had enough left for three--thinking that the more layers, the more durable it would be. But, Jonathan had already read the box and it had specifically warned against doing three coats!!! So, two it was. After the coats were finished, you were instructed to leave the sprayed area alone for at least 72 hours. Here is what the tub looked like all freshly painted.

Such an improvement. 

Now, this method isn't fool proof and if you look closely there are a few places where the paint has "sagged," but overall, it is a huge improvement. No more rust stains, thank goodness. Plus, the kit only cost $50. If you wanted to have your tub professionally done the prices usually start around $300 and go up from there. So we are pretty happy with the savings.

As for how long this treatment is supposed to last? We aren't sure. Jonathan said that he will be happy if it lasts for two or more years. We will have to let you know how it goes. I'm betting it will hold up pretty well considering we don't have any kids and our dogs will now be getting hosed down outside. Plus, I can honestly say that I'm not looking for perfect. I think the eventual dings and scratches will add character. It was just the rust that I wasn't a fan of. 

Have any of you ever refinished a tub/sink? Any tips? How long did your new surface last?