Making a Bathtub Shiny Again

March 9, 2006 8:38 AM

What are your experiences with bathtub refinishing/reglazing?

I have a porcelain bathtub that is dull and stained, and I'm thinking about having it reglazed/refinished/rewhatever to have it white and shiny again. I'm looking for input from people that have had this done and whether they were happy with the results.

Googling comes up with lots of information on this, but I'm finding everything is written by companies that provide the service, who obviously have a vested interest in convincing me it work and is worthwhile.

posted by mcstayinskool to home & garden (9 comments total)

I only know of people who have had it done. Seems to be a pretty straightforward process with at most a day or two labor. From what I've seen/heard, you'll find much better rates from part time handyman types who typically advertise in local papers (a few hundred dollars).
posted by paxton at 8:45 AM on March 9, 2006

My parents had a tub refinished about 10 years ago and it held up perfectly to standard, regular cleanings with Soft Scrub or whatever. There were lots of warnings about what you could and couldn't do with a reglazed tub but none of it was really onerous at all and after the first few months of pussyfooting they basically just treated it as if it were no different from a regular tub.

They regularly dumped dirty boots in the tub, put scratchy umbrellas in to dry off, etc etc and it still looked brand new until they tore it out a few months ago during a total bathroom remodel.

So, my vote is "go for it."
posted by bcwinters at 9:14 AM on March 9, 2006

We did this about 12 years ago and it turned out surprisingly good. I was initially dubious as to its effectiveness since the tub (an old clawfoot) had it done (prior to our purchase of the house) and it was peeling off and looked like crap. But the guy came in, used some nasty chemicals on it, told us not to use it for a week and it worked out great.

We also got a laundry list of things NOT to do to/with it, but we pretty much ignored it (aside from the warning not to use harsh abrasive cleansers). It still looked great five years later when we sold the house. Money well spent IMHO. As I recall, it was approximately $300 to get it done and we got the guy's name out of the phone book.

HTH,
Ed T.
posted by Lactoso at 9:55 AM on March 9, 2006

This might sound crazy but....have you tried to use a mr. clean magic eraser on the tub? I had to strip my old tub of the crappy enamel paint you can buy for tubs at Home Depot and I thought the tub was shot when I was done. With quite a bit of work and 2 boxes of those erasers I was able to get all of the scratches and rust stains out of the tub. YMMV of course.
posted by photoslob at 10:02 AM on March 9, 2006

LOVE my reglazed tubs (we have two)....here and here.

Don't drop anything sharp on them, they will chip...found this out the hard way. Sigh. (It was a small glass jar of facial scrub.)

We went a different route in finding our reglazer because there are so many amateurs out there. (Reglazing classes are pretty cheap and plentiful.) We called one of the companies that sells the supplies and asked them for a recommendation in our area. Turned out to be a great move. We know someone else who picked a name out of the phonebook and the reglazing for their tub began to alligator with 18 months because it was applied incorrectly. Not good.
posted by jeanmari at 10:03 AM on March 9, 2006

We used Miracle Method and had great results. Five years, tub still looks great and the finish seems to be holding up just fine. My mother-in-law just had it done, changing a biege-ish tub to gleaming white. It cost around $500, took a day.
posted by fixedgear at 10:40 AM on March 9, 2006

photoslob, it's sort of funny, but I wanted to post the same comment about the mr. clean magic erasers. I'll second your suggestion.
posted by jerryg99 at 10:56 AM on March 9, 2006

Homax makes a product called "Tough as Tile." I assisted my friend re-glaze his tub, and it turned out great.

The process is very easy, but I must mention a few negatives: You need to use a pretty strong chemical to clean the tub (muratic acid) -- and the whole process takes about 3 days (cleaning + two coats + dry time). Plus, you definitely need to invest in some protective gloves/eyewear/respirator.

If you have a spare bathroom to use while everything is curing, I wouldn't hesitate to reccomend this product. Easily do a tub for less than $50.
posted by dvottero at 1:05 PM on March 9, 2006

Excellent suggestions, all (man I love ask.metafilter). My wife is off to the store to get some 'mr. clean magic erasers'.

If that isn't a miracle cure, we will investigate Miracle Method and others.

Tough as Tile sounds interesting, but I'm not sure I'm interested in DIY for this...I like cheap, but not so much I need to expose myself to muratic acid and the like. Methinks I'd rather pay someone to do this job.
posted by mcstayinskool at 1:16 PM on March 9, 2006