One of the available ways to visually renew the bathtub and extend its service life is to paint it. Epoxy enamel is used for the painting, which helps to give the old coating a white and luster appearance.
The appearance of the bathtub is largely responsible for the coziness, feeling of cleanliness, and hygiene in the bathroom. If it looks dull, gray, darkened by time, or covered with rusty spots, then most likely, the overall impression of being in the bathroom will not be so pleasant.
Snow-white shiny surfaces give us the idea of hygienic cleanliness and give the interior of the bathroom freshness and relevance, even if the decoration in it is not the newest.
Even though plumbing stores are filled with all sorts of modern acrylic bathtubs, many bathrooms still have cast-iron tubs, and there are good reasons for this.
The performance of cast iron is ideal for comfortable bath usage in that it retains the heat of the water for a long time and absorbs its noise. It is also stable due to its large mass, and it is strong and durable.
The reliability of cast-iron bathtubs can be judged by the long decades of their usage. They could have served for many more decades, if not for the main drawback which is their fragile, vulnerable enamel.
Covered with cracks, spots, chipping, peeling, and other external defects, it becomes not only unaesthetic but also unhygienic, because when the surface has lost its integrity of the coating, it becomes more difficult to keep clean.
If the cast-iron bathtub has served its time, it is still not worth rushing to replace it. Buying and fixing a new tub will entail additional difficulties and costs associated with the finishing works in the bathroom. You can avoid this by ordering a bath repair service.
Bathtub Painting Cost in NYC
| Spray-On Application | Pour-On Application | |
| Lifetime |  1-3 years |
 7-15 years |
| Same Day Service? | 2-3 days |
Yes |
| Working Process | from 5 hours |
3-4 hours |
| Odorless | no |
yes |
| Drying Time | 2 days |
24 hours |
| COST | from $259 | from $259 |
- Pour-on application EcoTub™
- Ready for use in 24 hours
- Odorless, Near Zero VOC
- Pour-on application EcoTub™
- Ready for use in 24 hours
- Odorless, Near Zero VOC
- Pour-on application EcoTub™
- Ready for use in 24 hours
- Odorless, Near Zero VOC
Additional Services
| SERVICE | COST |
Caulking
|
$25 |
Removing sliding doors
|
$30 |
Distance surcharge
|
(variable) |
Advantages of Tub Painting
Epoxy enamel is an affordable and well-known material, which can give the surface of the bath the whiteness and gloss of a new tub.
Enamel is cheap, so the bathtub painting will not make a hole in the family budget. In comparison with other materials, this one is the most affordable among those that are designed for repairing the tub.
Enamel is not difficult to use, and you can handle painting yourself, even if you don't have any special skills. This is especially important when the repair budget is severely limited.
In order to paint the bath with enamel, dismantling is not required. This saves time which significantly simplifies the entire process and avoids the finishing works, the need for which arises in the case of replacing the bathtub.
After painting the tub with epoxy enamel, it becomes shiny and white.
DIY - How to Paint a Bathtub?
The entire process of renewing the tub by painting can be divided into three stages: surface preparation, enamel application, and drying of the material.
Initially, it is necessary to disconnect the bathtub from the water system, remove the faucet and accessories of the drain and overflow, so as not to stain them with paint, and apply the material efficiently everywhere.
The old enamel layer is evenly removed from the surface with sandpaper. This is necessary in order, to clean up areas with cracks, chips, and dirt that have penetrated deep, as well as for good adhesion of paint to the bath surface.
The resulting dust is cleaned off the uniformly treated surface, which is then thoroughly washed, dried, and degreased. No particles of removed enamel should remain on the surface, otherwise, the quality of the painting will be poor.
Before the work is started, the epoxy enamel is thoroughly mixed until it is homogenous, then it is applied to the surface. To paint the tub, brushes or rollers are used but certainly made of high quality. They should not leave stripes, bald spots, and adhered piles on the painted surface.
Bathtub staining involves applying enamel in several layers. Usually, 3 or 4 layers are sufficient, with an interval of 15-20 minutes after each one. After the painting, the bathtub is left until the enamel is completely dry.
When the material is completely dry, it can be connected to the water system and the drains and faucet can be fixed. Before the first use, the bathtub should be washed without the use of abrasives and aggressive chemicals. Ordinary soap applied to a soft sponge will do.
Disadvantages of Bathtub Spray Painting
Bathtub spray painting is a method that has gradually been replaced by other, more modern materials and methods of bath restoration. Some resort to it, not knowing about all the disadvantages of enamel:
When working with enamel, the specialist needs a respirator, because the material has a pronounced chemical smell and can be dangerous if its vapors are inhaled for a long time. The apartment should be well ventilated until the enamel is completely dry.
Epoxy enamel is not the same as powder enamel, which is applied to cast iron in industrial conditions. It is the same paint, but more dense, thick, and designed for surface operation in conditions of constant humidity. The enamel layer is thin, unreliable and short-lived.
Epoxy enamel is short-lived. Its gloss and whiteness are preserved for a period of not more than one year even with careful use. After that, the bathtub will again require repainting.
Taking care of the bathroom after the painting is quite difficult. It needs to be washed quite often so that the enamel does not darken and does not absorb dirt. Since you cannot use powders and chemicals with an aggressive composition, you will have to put a lot of effort to ensure that the surface remains clean.
Due to the short service life of epoxy enamel, even the low price of this material does not make this method profitable. The need to re-paint the bathtub after a short period makes it extremely costly.
Bathtub painting, although it can improve its appearance, can still not be used to create a truly perfect surface. Epoxy enamel will not make the bath perfectly smooth and will not give a noble glossy shine.
Painting is not suitable for repairing bathtubs with serious and deep damage, because this material is not suitable for leveling the surface, and can only emphasize the unnecessary relief.
The brittle material is quickly covered with a network of cracks, even from a minor impact. Metal buckets and basins should not be placed in a tub painted with enamel because bumps and scratches are caused by it.
Because of the porosity of the enamel, dirt, rust and hard water quickly penetrate its structure which causes the surface to become rough, unpleasant to the touch, and uneven in color.
Bathtub painting takes a lot of time, because the material needs to be applied in several layers. In addition, the epoxy enamel dries for a long time. For the bathroom to be used, it must take at least 6-7 days from the moment of painting.
Bath painting with epoxy enamel is an affordable, but rather a mediocre method of refinishing the bathtub, which is gradually becoming a thing of the past. You can resort to it only in cases when the appearance of the tub needs to be renewed at the lowest cost and not for yourself, but the sale of an apartment or renting it out.
Liquid Acrylic Is an Alternative to Painting a Bathtub
An alternative to painting the bathtub with epoxy enamel is to refinish its surface with liquid acrylic. This is a modern material, ideal for operation and maintenance. With it, you can create a new surface that will last for at least 15 years, and stay white, smooth, and shiny throughout the entire period.
Having an impressive service life, liquid acrylic is quite affordable in price, which makes it the most profitable material for pour-on application method to date. Unlike enamel, it is resistant to impacts, it does not crack and does not flake off.
Working with liquid acrylic requires professional skills, but our specialist copes with it quickly. In comparison with the epoxy enamel, which dries within a week, the tub refinished with liquid acrylic is ready for use after a day.
Reviews
Jamie GWe are engaged in the restoration of tubs with the use of high-quality liquid acrylic from leading representatives of the US chemical industry. We guarantee a flawless visual effect and long-term use of the applied coating.
Why Choose Us?
EXPERIENCE SINCE 2000
Professional repairers with extensive experience and a responsible attitude to work
RELIABLE QUALITY
We guarantee the reliable quality of the services provided
MODERN TECHNOLOGIES
In our work we use only modern technologies for bathtub repair and odorless material
