Painting a bathtub, uuuuuggggghhh

[ethilo]

Hey all,
I am going to sell my house in a month.  We've had it for about 4 years and during that time the paint in the tub where you usually stand to take showers started chipping away.  Eventually it chipped down to the raw surface of the tub.

Last week I bought myself a DIY refinishing kit and applied it to the tub.  There was a good size surface of the original paint that required further chipping away but I felt I had cleared out all of the paint that wasn't adhering well to the tub surface.  I applied my coats of paint and during the drying process, new regions of the original underlying paint started raising and bubbling up.  After 72h of drying we started to use the tub and about 10 uses later there are all kinds of bubbles of the original paint layers coming up.

I still have some paint left over, I'm wondering if it would be worth trying to do a spot repair job where I again peel off the paint that came up, do a few layers and make sure it's all super dry, or if I should just throw in the towel and call a professional company.

I really don't want to spend $500+.  I'm a poor-ass student with grit and determination.

[Greg]

It sounds like the only good solution will be to re-do the entire tub.  There are kits for that but if you're going to sell it...

Another option is leave it and let the new owners decide what they want to do, and when potential buyers mention it knock $500 off the sale price.

[lcg377]

What about just replacing the tub with a good find from Craigslist? Stuff in my area is listing for $50 to $100, and some things look brand new! Then you can sell your old one cheaply and let it be someone else's problem. ;)

[Spork]

So... most tubs, at least cast iron tubs, are not painted.  They're porcelained.   It is effectively a colored melted glass that is bonded to the tub.  You are unlikely to get the same finish ever.  I don't think porcelain is a DIY job.  (I participate in an old appliance forum where EVERYONE does EVERYTHING themselves... except porcelain and chrome.)

Replacing is probably cheapest...  but before you do that keep it in mind that most tubs are installed about the same time the studs are put up.  Some won't even fit through doors and were transported through windows or before the studs were up.  Most are going to be very custom fit (under tile and dry wall).  Replacement may not be simple.

The cheapest (though not the best or the prettiest) is probably a drop in fiberglass shell replacement.  Many of these are made in 2 or more pieces as to be easy to maneuver through existing structures.

[Ashyukun]

Yeah, just normal paint isn't going to cut it.

One thing I would suggest looking into before replacing everything: Rustoleum makes tub/tile refinishing kits that are an epoxy you paint/spray on over tiles or a tub. I used several kits to refinish the horrid pink tile in my main bathroom to white to help in selling my house, and it's pretty impressive how it turned out. You can occasionally find them at local hardware stores, but I had to order mine from Amazon. It takes a good bit of prep cleaning everything, but for less than $40 it's pretty good.

[MustardTiger]

We used this stuff on our bathtub/kitchen and bathroom countertops.  It has started peeling on the countertops and is only a temporary solution until we can afford the remodel but its looking strong in the bathroom.

[soccerluvof4]

They now make an overlay that can be cut and installed over the old cast iron tub. You will have to google it but there designed I beleive out of acrylic and you just cut to slide over old tub and caulk the edges. Brand new tub.

[UncleMark]

I went through the same things, as you. Also at first I wanted to save money but a bathtub renovations need to be done in the right conditions and with the right equipment so ultimately, you won't succeed without the help of professionals. That was a year ago, but they http://www.aprefinishing.com/ did it for me as it should be done and not expensive.

[CptCool]

If feasible, I'd remove/replace. A new fiberglass tub is only $300 or so

In a couple rentals as well as my own home, we hired someone to refinish the bathtub and it was fairly cost effective ($250/tub). All of the tubs were old cast-iron and would have been too large to remove & replace. The guy came out stripped off paint (if any) using a chemical stripper, then used acid to "etch" the porcelain surface of the tub. After washing out the acid, he applied an epoxy to the entire tub.

The whole process took him approximately 4 hours, and it required 24-48hrs of drying time before use.

It came out looking like a brand new tub & we've gotten quite a few compliments from people who saw the tub prior to refinishing in our home

[sisto]

I recommend hiring a resurfacing company to do it. It shouldn't cost too much and way easier than replacing. It will look good for you to sell the home and still be cost effective. I honestly think it's a better solution than not doing it and giving a credit to the buyer.

[srob]

yeah I would hire a refinishing company if available in your area. if you are really handy you can buy a steel tub at HD (bootzcast brand?) for only 150 or so and install it yourself-- I am not that adventurous. It usually costs me around 500 total to have someone else replace the tub, and that does not include the surround or new shower valve if needed.

 If your surround is older/gnarly looking, you might recoup the cost of replacing it all and then some when you sell. I recently got a plumber to put in a nice fiberglass tub with matching surround and new plumbing for just under 1k, and it looks great. It replaced a nasty yellow stained fiberglass tub and equally horrendous surround.

[Jack]

I third the recommendation to have a pro refinish the tub properly. Please don't replace a metal tub with a plastic one if you can avoid it.

[BlueHouse]

I third the recommendation to have a pro refinish the tub properly. Please don't replace a metal tub with a plastic one if you can avoid it.

+1000.
I had a company come out and refinish mine in 1 day.  He put some kind of acid wash on the tub surface, then applied the "paint". He described it as "airplane paint".   I don't remember much else.  I was recovering from foot surgery and was on drugs so passed out much of the time.  When I took a shower 2 days later, it was like a brand new (50-year old metal) tub.  There is nothing that feels worse on my body than sitting or standing in a plastic or fiberglass tub.  It just feels icky to me.  I lived there for 7 years and never saw any sign that it wasn't an original finish in perfect condition.

[AMandM]

I've refinished a porcelain tub with very good results.  It was cheap, only about $50, but it's a terrible job to do--it took several days and it smelled awful the whole time. Painstaking surface prep is crucial.
You need an epoxy kit (not paint), where you mix two cans together and the resulting substance has a limited usable time.  So clear your calendar for 3-4 days!