How To Reglaze a Tub

A Bathtub Re-Glazing Guide

Don’t you just love spending time relaxing in a bathtub full of warm water? There’s nothing that can beat it as far as relieving sore muscles and stress are concerned. Unfortunately, if your bathtub has aged and gotten grungy looking, you may not feel like soaking in it any more. When your tub begins to look rusty, permanently-soiled, scratched, and totally unattractive, it’s time to look at ways to refresh it. One of the options you have is to re-glaze the tub, a process that will make it look almost new again.

Before you start a re-glazing project, you’ll want to take a few precautions. Begin by removing all portable items from the room, including wall decorations. Then you’ll need to cover everything that remains -- the sink, toilet, cabinets, and floors -- with masking tape, plastic, newspapers, or drop cloths. If you should happen to have a spill or mis-spray later on, these coverings will keep you from damaging the other items in your bathroom. Once this is done, make sure you have adequate ventilation in the room so that you’ll be able to breathe safely.

Another thing you need to do in preparation for a re-glazing project is to remove all existing caulk from around the tub and then clean all of the surfaces of the tub with an industrial-strength cleaner. Once this is done, sand all of the tub with a palm sander, wash it out with hydrofluoric acid, and let it sit for awhile. Finish up by rinsing the surface areas with cold water and using a vacuum cleaner to remove any dust or debris that still remains.

After everything has been cleaned, it’s time to apply body filler to any chips or worn places. Allow the filler to dry completely and then sand it smooth and clean up the dust with a tack cloth. Once this is done, you’ll be ready to apply your first coat of primer, allow it to dry, and then spray on a coat of glaze. Glaze is available in a variety of different colors, so choose one that will look nice in your room. When the glaze has dried at least 48 hours, put in new caulking and let it cure. Then you’ll be ready to use your “new” bathtub.

If you’re a person who doesn’t have the skills to do the re-glazing yourself, you can always hire a professional to do the job for you. Even though this will be a more expensive route to take, you’ll be more assured of getting the re-glazing done right so that the glaze will look nice and last for years.

Re-glazing a bathtub isn’t really as difficult as it might seem, and anyone with a reasonable amount of handyman skills will be able to achieve good results as well as save a lot of money. Make sure you have all the materials you will need before you start the job, protect yourself from safety problems, and do a slow, thorough job, and you’re certain to be pleased with the results. If you don’t think you want to tackle the job, though, by all means hire a professional who will do an excellent job for you.