LESLIE: Todd, you’ve got The Money Pit. What can we do for you today?
TODD: I’ve got a prefabricated shower stall that’s probably made of a pretty thick gauge sheet metal or aluminum. And the hot and cold faucets haven’t been used for a very long time and they’ve been dripping and draining and they’ve developed a significant amount of calcium and rust deposits; kind of in a teardrop shape…
TOM: OK.
TODD: … halfway down from the faucets, the hot and cold, to the drain.
TOM: OK.
TODD: And I’ve tried Lime-A-Way direct without any dilution and left it sitting there then scrubbing it. It didn’t seem to do very good. And then I’ve also tried CLR at 100 percent strength and left it sitting there. And I finally started taking a wire brush to it but, unfortunately, I took the paint with it and got down to the sheet metal.
LESLIE: Hmm.
TODD: I’m wondering if there’s something that is a little bit better or maybe I need to leave it on there longer.
TOM: Well, if you’ve tried CLR and you’ve tried Lime-A-Way I think you’ve tried two very good quality products that are designed to remove –
LESLIE: To do exactly what the problem is.
TOM: – yeah – mineral salt deposits. If what you’re seeing is still streaking then it sounds to me like there must have been a chemical reaction between the original paint and the minerals itself. And so I think you’ve done what you can do. At this point you’ve already stripped away that paint so you’re going to need to reseal it, repaint it. And you need to start that with a primer coat.
TODD: OK. That’s my next question. Where I’ve got that down to the bare sheet metal now …
TOM: Yeah, and in fact, if you don’t it’s going to rust out on you. So, you know, this is much the same as fixing a metal roof. You have to start with a good quality primer and if you’re concerned about appearance you may want to consider spraying this on. This is not a very big area I assume, right?
TODD: No, it isn’t. No.
TOM: I would go out and I would clean the surface really well. I would pick up a can of Rust-Oleum primer; a spray can of Rust-Oleum primer or two.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. Made specifically for metal.
TODD: OK.
TOM: It’s good stuff. It goes on with a nice, even coat. You may even put a couple of coats on it. Let it dry really well and then I would put a Rust-Oleum topcoat over that. It really lays on nicely. It’s important to use a primer and a topcoat that’s made by the same manufacturer because you know the chemical connection is going to work really well. And I think that’s the best way to get this stall looking the way it should.
LESLIE: And Rust-Oleum makes a spray primer in a white, a gray and like a rusty red color, in case you’re going for like deep tones. So you’ll find something that works with whatever topcoat color you’re using.
TODD: Yeah, it’s just a basic flat white.
TOM: Alright. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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