Trade Ssecrets The Independent (London), Mar 26, 2000 by Kate Worsley (edited)
When that large glass bottle of Jo Malone slips and chips your 1,000 pound bathtub, an expensive treat has turned into an even more expensive disaster. But as long as it's just a chip and not a hole, it's a salvageable situation.
The colour runs right through acrylic baths, so just rub down scratches with metal polish.
Fibreglass (or GRP) baths are coated in a gel colour rather like a coat of nail varnish: scratch or dent this and you may as well get a brand new suite. Sorry.
Steel baths, like cars, will rust if you leave the chip to fester. Rub down with car body rust remover, paint with rust inhibitor, fill with a fine car body filler; smooth with wet-and-dry abasive paper and cover with enamel paint.
For chips and dents around the size of a 20p, the Cramer Repair Kit can be used on cast- iron, pressed steel and acrylic baths, resin shower trays and ceramic sinks. Match the colour first: most baths are either Alpine White, Pergamon or Soft Cream.
The surface must be free of rust, clean and dry: blast it with a hairdryer if necessary. The kit provides abrasive paper, a two-pack resin filler to build the chip up to surface level,and a touch-up stick of enamel paint. It dries in 30 minutes, but if the repair is below water level, leave it for four days to "cure" before filling the bath.
