Popular Mechanics: Home Improvement

Quick Fix for Tired Fixtures

By Roy Berendsohn

Now, don't get us wrong. We're not recommending this epoxy-acrylic paint for most bathroom remodeling jobs. We think that when a fixture has seen better days, you're better off simply replacing it. But there are times when a down-and-dirty repair isn't such a bad idea: the tiny upstairs bath that sees hardly any use except when company comes, or the sink in a vacation home.

Sometimes, all you want to do is spend a couple of hours sprucing things up to make them a bit easier to live with—until you can do the job right.

Enter this coating kit from Rust-Oleum. For $20 you get a refinishing material that dries to the touch within four hours or so. A bathtub refinished with the kit will be ready for use within three days, says Rust-Oleum, the product's manufacturer.

Other uses include refinishing old porcelain doorknobs that would otherwise have to be replaced through a specialty antique hardware supplier and refinishing ceramic wall tile. The coating is available in three colors: white, biscuit, and almond. One kit is enough to do a small sink. It's sold at hardware stores and home centers. Contact Rust-Oleum, 11 Hawthorn Pkwy., Vernon Hills, IL 60061.

Copyright © Popular Mechanics 2001. Reprinted by permission.

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