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Wanting to repair my dad’s old bath, was painted and fine but now bubbles of paint popped so we started peeling off paint by hand and found black hole pictured. Hoping we can patch with something, then sand and re paint again
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Trudjef. It's terrific to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about restoring a bath.
Let me tag @nicky67 as they contributed an amazing Claw bath renovation. You also might like to take a look at this previous discussion: How to renovate old claw foot bath.
At this stage, since you've already had an issue with paint bubbling, it's likely best to remove all the paint on the bath and start again. It's a bit hard to tell from the image, but is the area rusted and pitted or is it just discoloured? Sanding the black area can be sanded smooth you might be able to convert the rust and paint over it. If it's so deep that the damaged portion can't be sanded out, then you'd need to look at filling it.
Remember that the older paint in this bath likely contains lead, so please take precautionary steps to ensure your safety. Such steps would include only wet sanding to prevent airborne dust particles and wearing full PPE, including a respirator and disposable overalls. If you are not confident, then I would recommend outsourcing this project to a professional.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
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