Using sheet metal instead of tiles in bathroom

[Psipsina]

Ok I'm not about to galvanise the whole wall or anything - google it, people do! But I want to cover a small shelf area at the end of the bath with metal instead of tiling it.

This is mainly because I don't want to silicon tiles onto wood, and they will bring the level up higher than the bath so I can't use my lovely bath trim tiles round the edge.

I am thinking, galvo steel or copper.

What is likely to happen to these metals if they get wet constantly and can I protect them with some sort of wax?

I realise this is an obscure question but any comments about metal in bathrooms are welcome

Well, you taps are made of chrome plate, more than likely, and my old water pipes looked like copper. If a tap is made of it, I don't see why a shelf can't be

Yes...I have some lovely copper pipes too which I wasn't going to box in till someone came and stuck a load of equipotential bonding on them, which ruins the effect

I have tried to find out about protective wax but am not sure what to buy as most of the eejits good folk using galvo roofsheeting to line their walls are in the US&A.

It definitely can be done. Were you wanting it to look like metal? How big is the spot you want to put metal on? You can use these if you want something decorative: www.andythornton.com/en-UK/products/urban-vintage/metal-tiles

They can be painted. I'm not sure about clear sealants.

Would a bit of stainless steel work? A la kitchen splashbacks? That'd be very easy.

Copper.... I don't know. You can get copper sinks though, so there must be something people use to protect it.

Ah wonderful - thank you for your confidence! I like those tiles but I have ordered some sheet copper and steel from a metal company as it's much cheaper.

The website you linked to mentioned using a clear polyurethane sealant which I will have to look into.

Basically worried about corrosion - it will get a lot of water on it! I think galvanised can produce a white (zinc) rust but not sure what copper might do.

It's a small area - about 72cm by 12cm. Tiles all around apart from the edge by the bath.

I wondered if stainless steel might still rust iyswim? I have a steel commercial sink and it is always getting rust spots.

I found a copper sink website which recommends using a sort of wax occasionally to protect it. Really odd - you'd think it would wash off!