[barbie72]

Last month I've taken on the task of refurbishing an old steel tub. The drain and overflow valve had completely rusted out leaving large holes. I've created new ones with Bondo and everything seems to be going well with the plumbing, but I'm running into an issue with the fitting the actual metal drain.

It doesn't sit completely level with the tub floor. There's about 1/4" gap on one side whereas the backside is completely flush. I know the tub is sloped for drainage, but I have no idea how to fix this. I still need to paint the tub, but wanted to make sure everything will work okay before doing so. Will the Plumber's putty be enough to fill in the gap? Can I slant the drain down slightly by using some type of weight until everything dries?

Please don't tell me to keep sanding....lol. I'm trying desperately to avoid getting a new tub since I'm determined to fix this on my own. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[chandler48]

Welcome to the forums! Now that you have your first post in, post some pictures so we can see what you see. Where are the holes? In the tub? If so, I doubt you will get them to look original, nor be waterproof. If you are sanding, how do you plan on finishing it?

 

[joecaption]

If there's rusted out holes in the tub anything you do is not going to work, time for a new tub.
There just is no DIY tub "refinisher" that's going to hold up for long.

 

[barbie72]

So I've given it some thought and decided I'm going to finish up everything tonight and see what happens. Even if it doesn't last long it'll maybe give me some time to save up for the actual replacement (shower pan most likely) and learn everything I need to know to do that. At this point I'll take what I can get.

Attached are the before and from a few weeks ago. It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing.

 

[dj3]

I'm sorry to tell you that you are wasting your time, your money and your energy on something that you will throw away soon. Your "repair" will not stop leaks, and leaks will cause more expensive damages.
Replace the tub: A new tub is about $200, drain set about $25. Labor? up to you.
You can do it, Home Depot can help.

 

[huesmann]

I sure hope you sanded or wire-wheeled all that rust away—both surfaces—before applying bondo. Otherwise it's probably not gonna last even as short a time as dj3 thinks.