Frequently Asked Questions about Bathrooms and Showers
This section of the site is new and will be evolving over the next few months. So, at least at first, you may not find answers to all your questions here, but fear not we are just a phone call away from 9:30am to 10pm every day on 0113 2360214.
A far better way to start is with a colour swatch or colour card from the manufacturers. We keep Farrow and Ball swatches so ring us for one if you need one, or you can order one directly from the Farrow and Ball website, likewise for other manufacturers. Typically a swatch or colour card will show you each colour accurately reproduced on an area about 1 or 2 sq.cm. be aware that when the colour is on a larger area whatever qualities it seems to have on a small area will be more impact-full. Light colours will look lighter. Deep, dark colours will look deeper and darker.
So the next stage if you really want to work hard making your decision is to order sample pots of paint from the manufacturers, these can be bought directly from the manufacturer at low cost. Once you have your sample pot, paint a piece of card or paper of at least A4 size (the bigger the better) with it and look at it in your bathroom under the various lighting conditions that you will have in there. This will give you a really accurate understanding of what kind of experience your chosen colour will give you. If you need any help or advice don't hesitate to ring or email us.
If you have some other accessory or matching bathroom item that is paintable and that you wish to match with your painted bath speak to us, we may be able to arrange to expertly paint that for you too.
We fix any tiny faults we find as we prepare the surface of the bath, invisible on a gloss white bath, these can show up more on a matt painted surface, you probably won't do this. We spray 2 coats of primer and matt down after the 2nd coat (go over it by hand with fine abrasive paper to get a fine finish on the surface). But you do not need to do this. We spray 3 top coats and matt down again after the second coat, you also do not need to do the matting down but you can if you like doing that kind of stuff and have time. You can get 75% of the result we get and your bath will look great, but the extra 25% is the bit that's hard to do and that gives your bath the top quality professional finish that the centrepiece of your bathroom deserves.
Painted Baths
Here you will find answers to some of the most often repeated questions we hear about our painted baths. Because, I believe, that your time is better spent choosing a bath and colour scheme rather than reading my blurb (informative and erudite though it is) I have added after each question in parenthesis as brief as possible and answer and then a much fuller answer follows beneath.Which of your baths can be painted? (all of them)
All of our baths can be painted. So all of our acrylic baths, stone cast baths, fibre glass and gel-coat baths can all be painted. The exterior only of the bath is painted, the interior and top edge of the bath are left unpainted. Where baths have feet the feet can also be painted if required, either in the same colour as the bath or a different colour (see next question below for more details of that).Can the bath feet be painted? (yes)
All the bath feet supplied with our baths can be painted. Some manufacturers such as Burlington supply most or all of their bath feet in finishes other than chrome onto which we can paint directly, for example white. Other manufacturers, such as Royce Morgan, supply most of their feet only in chrome. In these cases we cannot paint with wet paint (like Farrow and Ball) directly onto the metal surface of the feet as the paint would just run off. So instead we powder coat them first and then paint on top of that. Powder coating is a process which paints using a dry powder that sticks to the surface of the metal which is then baked in an oven. It is great on its own as a final finish for matt black or matt white feet but it also provides a stable surface onto which we can paint with Farrow and Ball or other suitable paints.What's the lead time for a painted bath? (3 weeks-ish, but we can also do emergency painting)
Usually the lead time for a painted bath is between 2 and 4 weeks. In cases of great urgency (which are many) we can often be quicker than this and we will do out best to meet any deadlines you have.What Paint Manufacturers and Colours can you use? (any)
We know our paint, and what we don't know we can find out. So the short answer is we can use all (paints) and any (colours) as long as they suitable and if dont know that already we can find out. The most popular brands of paint we are asked to use are Farrow and Ball, Little Greene, Fired Earth and Paint and Paper Library - over 700 colours to choose form between them. We can also paint in any RAL Colour including metallic finishes and we can match colours (using a spectroscope) to any sample you can supply. We generally use a matt eggshell finish which is knock-resistant and washable and performs well in a domestic bathroom but we can use gloss, and other suitable finishes. If you have a particular requirement not mentioned here call or email us and we will help you get what you want.Can you give any useful advice on how to choose colours? (yes)
The main issue when it comes to choosing a paint colour is to get an accurate idea of how the paint will look when its on your bath. The worst way of doing this is to just use the colour as shown on a computer screen as a guide. The way in which colours are specified for computing, whilst covering a very large number of different Red-Blue-Green combinations, cannot capture the richness of the wavelengths reflected by quality paints such as Farrow and Ball. In addition different computer screens will render colours quite differently.A far better way to start is with a colour swatch or colour card from the manufacturers. We keep Farrow and Ball swatches so ring us for one if you need one, or you can order one directly from the Farrow and Ball website, likewise for other manufacturers. Typically a swatch or colour card will show you each colour accurately reproduced on an area about 1 or 2 sq.cm. be aware that when the colour is on a larger area whatever qualities it seems to have on a small area will be more impact-full. Light colours will look lighter. Deep, dark colours will look deeper and darker.
So the next stage if you really want to work hard making your decision is to order sample pots of paint from the manufacturers, these can be bought directly from the manufacturer at low cost. Once you have your sample pot, paint a piece of card or paper of at least A4 size (the bigger the better) with it and look at it in your bathroom under the various lighting conditions that you will have in there. This will give you a really accurate understanding of what kind of experience your chosen colour will give you. If you need any help or advice don't hesitate to ring or email us.
How does a painted bath stand up to normal use? (very well)
We generally paint using an eggshell finish. This is the same kind of finish you might use on skirting boards, window boards or interior doors so it is washable, knock-resistant and relatively hard-wearing. It will last in the same way and withstand similar usage to the same paint on your doors and skirting boards. So with care you can expect it to last 10 years or more.What's the best way to clean marks off a painted bath? (a damp microfibre cloth)
If you get dirty marks on the surface of the paint use a soft damp cloth - a microfibre cloth is by far the best kind to use - be as gentle as you can be but you can be quite robust with it if you need to be and this will remove most marks.What if the paint gets scratched or scuffed, can it be fixed? (yes)
If this happens ring us for advice, sometimes its possible to fix a scuff by careful use of a solvent such as t-cut, at other times the best way is to use a small atomiser to respray the affected area. If you need this we can send you a suitable atomiser pre-loaded with paint.How do you paint them? (with great care and expertise)
First the surface of the bath is prepared. This means rubbing the bath down to provide a key for the primer, during this phase tiny faults that can't be seen on a gloss white surface but that can be seen when the surface is painted with a matt finish are filled and corrected. The bath is then expertly sprayed with two coats of primer. The second primer coat is then matted down - that is, it is rubbed down all over with fine abrasive paper by hand to provide a fine and even surface. The bath is then sprayed with two top coats, matted down for a second time and then sprayed with a third and final topcoat to give an unsurpassed finish.Do you paint anything other than baths? (yes)
We paint bathroom furniture as well as baths, we also paint some (stonecast) countertop basins which match many of our baths. Follow these links to find out more about custom painted bathroom furniture and custom painted basins.If you have some other accessory or matching bathroom item that is paintable and that you wish to match with your painted bath speak to us, we may be able to arrange to expertly paint that for you too.
Can I paint my bath myself? (yes, but not as well as we can)
If your bath is a roll top such that the edge you will be painting to is under the roll edge of the bath then the answer is yes, if its a contemporary style bath with no roll then you would have to create the painted edge and that is a job for an expert only. If it's a roll top you've got and you want to do it yourself then this is how you do it...- Rub down with P240 abrasive paper (wet-n-dry) to provide a key for the paint.
- Paint with suitable primer, use a 4" roller
- Paint with Top-Coat (minimum of 2 top coats)
We fix any tiny faults we find as we prepare the surface of the bath, invisible on a gloss white bath, these can show up more on a matt painted surface, you probably won't do this. We spray 2 coats of primer and matt down after the 2nd coat (go over it by hand with fine abrasive paper to get a fine finish on the surface). But you do not need to do this. We spray 3 top coats and matt down again after the second coat, you also do not need to do the matting down but you can if you like doing that kind of stuff and have time. You can get 75% of the result we get and your bath will look great, but the extra 25% is the bit that's hard to do and that gives your bath the top quality professional finish that the centrepiece of your bathroom deserves.