Has anyone refinished a tub. I have a quote of $450 but maybe I can do it. Will this hold up in a rental where I have little control over it’s use(abuse) and cleaning?
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A refinished tub will not hold up to abuse. The new surface is far more fragile than the original.
(Perhaps a better choice is a tub liner -- more expensive than refinishing but cheaper than a new tub.)
I used this product in my rental house. It was recommended by someone who refinishes tubs for a living. http://www.tubbyusa.com/
The kit cost $100. The prep work is the time-consuming part. You have to remove the plumbing chrome, then sand and clean the surface. The surface of my tub was problematic because some dunce had painted it in the past. I had to scrap off every bit of paint with a painter's razor-scraper.
I probably spent 16 hours on prep and one hour on applying the epoxy. It came out beautiful and has held up well.
I've painted a tub with automobile paint (compressed air paint gun), which is what the tub and appliance refinisher whom i know uses. It seemed to work well for me and came out smoothly; i did multiple coats, with a bit of W&D sanding between coats. The finish requires a cleaner like Soft Scrub...no abrasive cleansers; make it a part of the rental contract.
Adequate ventilation during spraying is paramount! My friend uses a hooded, positive-ventilation system. I opened a screened window and used a respirator. If there's a water heater in the room, shut it down before painting.
My refinisher friend told me that the tricky part is to make sure the paint is applied UNDER the drain flange. Most sloppy refinishers just mask the flange and spray, but the film starts lifting there. Get a tub drain removal tool to fit in the crossbars if the flange won't readily unscrew with the fallback of jamming the handles of your pliers in the flange and twisting it out.
I was under the impression that the pro would spray actual porcelain.
Nope, porcelain is glass. It has to be baked on.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
"I was under the impression that the pro would spray actual porcelain."Well, they could, but then they'd have to turn the furnace up to 800°C for about an hour to fuse it on. :)BruceT
Edited 5/4/2009 6:21 pm by brucet9
It's possible to get a fixture re-porcelained, but you have to remove it, send it to the glazer. People do it for those old-timey cast-iron sinks, cast stoves, and such, but it's reeeeeaaaaal expensive...not worth it for a tub.For a rental, i'd go with tub liner or suck it up and replace it.