Not the "craw..." "Da Craw....DA CRAW!"

In keeping with the eclectic-restoration themed decor of our 100-year old home, no ordinary bathtub would have fit the bill for our bathroom build-out extravaganza.

Luckily, there seemed to be a penchant a few years back to take old clawfoot bathtubs, paint them either OU red or OSU orange, stick them in elementary school classrooms to be used as book storage, comfy pillow filled reading sleds, seasonal decor and maybe even a humiliating time-out penalty box of sorts.

The one my F-i-Law found at a garage sale had several coats of OSU orange roller painted on the outside. It took several hours of sweat equity and 4 - 60 grit 4 1/2" flap discs to get all the paint off, but after the sanding. some bondo word, two coats of HVLP shot automotive primer and a coat of mildew-resistant laced latex, I think it's looking pretty sano.

The interior of the tub was in relatively decent shape for a bathroom fixture that's almost as old as our house. There are only two rust spots where the patina has eaten through the porcelin paint, both of which are miniscule and easily repairable using a myriad of supplies I keep in my garage for automotive repair, paint, and touch-up.

The claw feet are cast iron depictions of some sort of raptor appendage clutching an orb of unknown origin. They are detailed enough for me to want to strip the coats of OSU orange tinted latex off of them, get a coat of protective rustoleum over their craggy surfaces, and maybe hit it with some fine brush detailing -- time and patience permitting.

This particular clawfoot wonder of the bath taking arts was picked up by my F-i-L at a garage sale for $25 and included the faucet and drainage hardware. Another tub in similar condition, but painted OU crimson, was bid on, won and paid for by S at an auction last year.

No, we aren't planning on giving our "new" old tubs a collegiate hue of any sorts, instead opting to get several coats of bright white on the exteriors of the tub twins.

And even if we did, deep down I probably still bleed Bruin Blue and Gold -- hey, a blue tub with bright gold-leafed claw foots....that's a look I may be able to deal with.




BTW, the title of this post will only be groked by the most die hard "Get Smart" fans. For all others, all I have to say is..."you missed it by that much."