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Bathtub Refinishing
Posted by refinishersonline on May 6th, 2006 01:31 PM
In reply to Reglazing a bathtub by Steve on August 10th, 1998 05:13 PM [Go to top of thread]
54 of 63 people found this post helpful
Is Diy Bathtub Refinishing a Practical choice?
The answer quite frankly is most cases is no. I've been in this business over 10 years and have never seen one DIY bathtub refinishing kit that lasted a year. The do it yourself kits sold on the internet, local hardware stores, or your favorite kome improvement stores are not designed to stand the test of time nor do they have chemical resistance a professional refinishing company can offer you. Most products available to the general public, through hardware stores, and on the Internet, fail within the first year.
The problems with DIY kits are many but let concentrate on the the most important ones which cause most failures. We have spoken to Hundreds of consumers who have used various Do-It Yourself refinishing products over the past 10 years and not one was happy with the results they achieved. The complaints were centered around poor appearance, product peeling, sometimes within one week of the application.
The two biggest problems are with the bonding process and application processes. Proper bonding of these products, to a porcelain sink or bathtub, requires a professional strength bonding or whetting agents, plus a delaminating solution. They are usually only available with to professional refinishers. Some kits may include what they call bonding agents but these bonders and delaminating paste are hazardous chemicals. This is why companies do not include them in the DIY kit you purchased from the hardware store or off the Internet. If they do offer a so called bonding agent they are usually just acetone or alcohol.( Not a real silane based adhesion promoter). There is no one single product that can be used on all surfaces. Refinishing requires many different products.
Some companies may ask you to wipe your fixture with muriatic acid, alcohol, or TSP (trisodiumphosphate). None of these products will help properly bond their coating to your fixture. In fact if they are not neutralized properly they will interfere with the whatever small mechanical bonding they do offer.
These products are not strong enough to delaminate porcelain to a degree needed to form a proper mechanical bond plus they are formulated to bond on a molecular level. Keep in mind muriatic acid is very hazardous, this is a chemical used in swimming pools to balance PH levels. Bonding agents in DIY kits are rare too. They must be formulated correctly as there are literally thousands of different silane bonding agents each designed for each coating or process. They are not interchangeable.
You must also be able to perform flawless body work and chip repair for the surface to be smooth as glass. Take a flash light and lay it in the bottom of the tub. Let the beam travel along the entire surface. This will reveal every imperfection. You must be able to repair and contour these imperfections or a high gloss coating will only amplify their existence much like a new car hood where a hail damage storm has hit. Nice and shinny but many dings and dents pronounced. If you use regular BONDO or some cheap polyester product they probably will not stand the test of time due to thermal shock or continual which is caused by relentless use of Hot and cold water.
As for appearance, well, let me ask you this, "How much experience do you have refinishing sinks and bathtubs?". Refinishing is an art into itself, and requires years of experience to perfect. You cannot expect to just brush on one of these products and have your sink, or bathtub looking new again. Using A brushed or rolled on coating is like burning down the barn to kill the rats.
To be smooth as glass the tub must be sprayed. How much experience do you have spraying? My youngest crew member has 7 years experience and it requires all his concentration on every job to get professional results. I have 13 Years experience and it requires all my concentration and the best equipment possible to achieve acceptable results.
DIY KITS are self defeating. Why is It is self defeating you may ask? For a DIY kit to be semi smooth it must be " SELF LEVELING". therefore it will be very slow drying. A DIY kit must use a slow drying epoxy to minimize the brush or roller marks left behind. IT NEVER WORKS! Brush marks will always be present. Another con to a slow drying coating to consider is the maintenance. Remember the purpose of your refinishing is to make the surface easy to maintain and clean. ( All Epoxy Paints will Chalk and Fade)
A slow drying coating will then be at the mercy of the environment for surface contaminates from the A.C. sanding dust, or just minor air particulates that will land on the surface. I don't care how clean the environment is after 4 days the usual required dry time the surface will be full of these foreign objects. Even a Diy Spray Kit Will be slow drying. This brings us to another hazard. Have you ever sprayed in a confined area?
A regular dust mask does nothing for toxic fumes. Now that you have dust and other particles imbedded in the surface plus brush marks for soap residue and body oils and hard water deposits to cling to you you will now have a surface which will require often and more aggressive cleaning methods thereby defeating the initial purpose of having the surface refinished anyway. During those four days of curing the Diy kits will have dust settled into the surface. Only a professional equipment and a professional knows how to prevent all this.
When the product does fail, and it will, I do not expect a refund from the company you purchased it from. They will say that you did not properly follow the application directions. But even if you get a refund you still have to contend with a tub that requires stripping. Stripping a bathtub is a dangerous chore. I know personally of 2 Fatalities of professional refinishers who actually died stripping bathtubs.
You must use an aircraft stripper grade or a car stripper which contains fumes which can burn and kill quickly. This is why most refinishers charge $100 to strip an improperly refinished bathtub. Even at $100 to strip a bathtub most refinishers dread this chore and some will not even take the risk. They must wear special fresh air systems when stripping a bathtub chemically to protect from fumes and gloves which protect them from ke napalm like burns if it comes in contact with skin.
I offer you the following test. Ask your DIY SELLER to send you a sample and paint a black tile with the coating. Or just buy the kit and paint a 12x12 tile. Let it cure in a normal environment. Remember a bathtub bottom and rails are mostly horizontal surfaces. By the time it dries it will have so many dust particles in them we sometimes jokingly call them built in anti-slip systems with all the granules present.
The last thing you need to ask yourself is if you are already saving thousands of dollars having a professional refinish your tub tile or sink why go cheap on yourself now? I know we all like to save money but some things are best left to a professional. That's what professional refinishing is all about. Saving money!
Obviously It would seem I have a biased position regarding this matter as I am a professional refinisher. However, focus should be that I do follow my own advise.
If you don't believe me ask my wife! ( pictures coming)
Last week in April 2005 her Grand Cherokee got dinged on the front left Fender. I can easily go to the dealer and purchase the perfectly matched quart of paint for $75 and spray it myself but even with 13 Years behind a trigger and a spray gun I know I am not a professional Car Painter, I have an idea I am familiar with the process but I have never sprayed a car. Guess what?
We are taking it to the dealer for the paint job. Why?
I want it to match.
I want it to look new again.
I want the warranty.
I don't want my wife to kill me if I mess it UP!
No the insurance did not cover it. I have a $500 deductible but I want it done right.
It's just not worth the risk....
Locate a bathtub Refinishers at
http://www.refinishersonline.com and http://www.tubtechs.com Was this post helpful? Yes: or No:
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