I am remodeling my main bathrooom, and I am putting in an acrylic clawfoot tub. I’ve heard pretty good things about them… But I have recently come across a fiberglass clawfoot on the web, much less in price, and about half the weight (50lbs.) These folks swear (of course) that the fiberglass is better. Does anyone have any input on how these products hold up, and which is the better material, acrylic or fiberglass.
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Few things ...
Cast acrylic has no top coat, unlike the gel coat on fiberglass products, which can chip down to the cloth, also revealing an unsightly color.
Acrylic can also be rejuvenated back to the original quality of finish without going through to another color or material.
While they're both "plastic", so to speak, a good acrylic product will have more mass to it, and feel more substantial than most f'glass products.
If you ever sell, an acrylic product is a bonus to the buyer; many companies make top-end showers and tubs out of acrylic ... f'glass reeks of "cheap". Obviously a generalization, but as such, it's pretty true.
Formerly BEMW at The High Desert Group LLC
Bruce,
I appreciate your thoughts..., kind of my feeling too.
Brian
I was going to say basically the same thing about fiberglass and acrylic until I read your thread, and to back up what you are saying I spoke with a Kohler sales rep not long ago. He said that Kohler does not sell fiberglass tubs anymore because of pitting and chipping over the life of the product. He said exactly what you said about rejuvinating acrylic products.