How To Refinish and Repaint Your Bathtub

Does your porcelain bathtub bear the marks of time? Showing its wear through every nick, scratch and stain from years of bathing. Does it need a quick update from it's 1970's bright green or heart-shaped, baby pink facade?

An easy step to revamp your bathroom and offer it a glimmer of hope is to grab a bathtub refinishing kit and don your tub in a sleek coat of up-to-date colour and radiance.

Repaint your bathtub: the steps to take

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Buy a Home Bathtub Painting Kit

Head to your local hardware store and locate a bathtub painting or refinishing kit. Make sure to do your research before venturing out, as application methods and product quality will vary. 

It is important to note that bathtub refinishing kits release dangerous and toxic fumes into the air. Alongside the kit, remember to purchase chemically resistant rubber gloves, safety glasses as well as a vapour respirator, or gas mask, in order to protect yourself. You may also require a sander or sandpaper, masking tape, razor scraper, silicone digester and a variety of other materials. 

With a little preliminary reading about the exact items you'll need, it'll be much easier to proceed and get the best results with the least amount of effort.

Clean the bathtub

The first step to getting the fresh and current bathroom of your dreams is to remove some of the hard to clean dirt that has been collecting in and around your tub. This is very important, as the refinishing kit will work best on a disinfected, clean surface. Having the bathtub prepared and thoroughly cleaned by removing soap scum and oil build-up will improve the longevity of the effects of the refinishing kit. The final result will be best if you put in a little bit of elbow grease, to begin with!

Refinishing the Bathtub

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Some additional preparations might be necessary, depending on the material of your tub. If you are working with fibreglass, it may be good to sand down the tub before beginning. If there are repairs to be made, it is important to do these before moving forward with the refinishing kit.

Once all the preparations have been completed, you can get started. Make sure the tub is completely dry, with no water around the edges of the drain or outside of the tub. Wear your protective eye and hand gear, as well as your respirator. Use masking tape to secure the edges of the tub as well as the drain, faucet and showerhead.

Follow the instructions located inside of the refinishing kit and mix products together accordingly. Now it's time for the excitement! Apply the product to the tub, watching out for runs in the mix.  

Make sure to remove the protective masking after a few hours, even if the refinishing liquids have yet to dry and wait a full 24 hours (at least!) before using the tub. You may need to re-caulk the surroundings of your completed job, but this will be project-dependent.

Here are the instructions to complete this project: How to repair caulking around the bath.

Your refinished bathtub should now be ready to take on the world, or whatever soapy water and bath salts you choose to throw its way!

Don't forget to try our cost calculator to get a better idea of the cost of your bathroom renovation project!

Recap of the main steps to repaint and refinish a bathtub

Source; Canva