Bathtub Painting

Money will motivate where nothing else does. Am I right? Yep, you know I am. Terry and I looked at new whirlpool bathtubs and really desired to purchase one, had the money from our tax refund, and the pickup with us to haul it, but...$800, well... I had other stuff I wanted too. We really needed a new tub because most of the enamel finish was worn off. I think someone had spilled a lot of acid or drain cleaner in it. We saw a package next to the new tubs that held paint to refinish tubs, showers, or anything of that nature. Having read about said paint, we decided to give it a go. $30 was not too much for an experiment in refinishing. Besides, Terry was not all that thrilled about removing the old cast iron tub with the help of his muscle-less wife.(me) He named off all the pros and cons of each. Being the "con-man" that he is, we opted for the paint. "That old tub couldn't get worse than it is now!" I agreed.
For those of you who have contemplated this venture...here is the scoop. There are a lot of steps to it. Not hard steps, necessarily, but a bunch of them. First, before you leave the store, read the list of things you need for the procedure. We thought that we could just clean the tub with comet and then spray paint it....No. You need rubber gloves, face mask, eye protection, a chemical that cleans the surface (it says on the box),a sponge, 0000 steel wool, and a lot of paper towels and some other stuff. (I'm too lazy to get the list and write it down right now.) The tub really does come clean and then it is ready to apply paint to. Tape off the area and put down a plastic drop cloth.
The next step (really the first step if you are organized and read the directions all the way through before you start. hahaha) Is to put the can marked "cold " in the frig for a couple of hours. (See, you could have it half-way through if you would do this step before cleaning the tub.) Then, after two hours, put the can marked "hot" in to 120 degree water for 10 minutes. The directions tell you how to combine the two cans into one....interesting, but Terry did it and I stayed in the next room because, to be truthful, I was a little afraid of the process.
Finally, it is time to spray the tub with a thin mist of the paint. Yea!
Then....wait....36 hours!!!!
Rub the surface with 0000 steel wool.
Spray the rest of the can of paint.
Wait 4 days to use!!!
Terry is sure going to get tired of taking baths upstairs! He is a shower man and this is about to kill him. (I am sure he will survive.)
Right now we are on the 36 hour wait. When I get home from work I will to the steel wool thing and when Terry gets home he will do the last spray paint. (I don't have the patience for spray paint and everything tends to run.) So far, everything is looking good. It really needs the second coat and even if it doesn't turn out perfect, it is a lot better, even now, than it was.
I'll let you know how the finished product is.