Experience with a refinished bathtub?

[gahrajmahal]

My son and his wife have a home built in the 20's with the original cast iron tub. The porcelain is worn and is difficult to clean. They are considering having it refinished where someone comes out, etches the porcelain and sprays on a new epoxy coating. They got a quote of $800.00 with a 5 year guarantee. My son thinks this price sounds high. I question the longevity of it. The web reviews come from folks who only recently had the work done. I could find no one 1 or 2 years after the refinish. New baby's on the way, only one bathroom so no time to tear out the old one and replace it. Any GJ members with experience?

Thanks

 

[RodneyPierce]

we have a nice heavy cast iron tub in our house. Not claw foot, but still a nice cast iron heavy duty tub. We had a few places give us estimates that were similar in price, for refinishing it. I decided to just redo our tub and shower surround. We got the set for a little over 500.00 for both the tub and shower surround.

 

[dwljpl]

We had ours refinished for just over $400 and it was good for about 5 years before the finish started wearing off just from the water hitting it repeatedly in certain spots.

 

[Steves32]

From a plumbing contractor-

Save your money.

 

[slip knot]

If it aint a claw foot tub then whats the need to refinish it. A koehler cast iron runs only @$300 for brand new. Thats all I put in my rentals. Bullet proof.

 

[slghmmr88]

Mostly depends on the contractor. I have used a lady about 6 times for various refinish projects and have recommended her countless times. She did a tub for me in 01 in tan with speckled pebble finish and I saw it the other day cause my old bosses son is moving out since he finished dental school and buying a much bigger place and the tub still looks great. The shower and wainscoat bath she did for me in 08 still looked good last week when I checked after some renters moved out. That being said I have also seen some really crappy jobs and some that just aren't holding up, but those weren't her's.

 

[JasonTX]

I moved into a place in 05 and they refinished the tub when I moved in. Moved out this July. In a one bath house with two adults, two kids and two dogs using that tub, there was one 1/4" round chip in the tub floor. Seemed durable to me

 

[MikeGyver]

We paid $350 to have ours refinished. Looked great afterwards but started to peel in some spots chip after 3 years of daily use.

 

[countryroad82]

If it is a clawfoot, sell the da$% thing to someone who wants it. I hate 'em, never can get warm enough in them and no matter how hot the water is when you draw it out it will be cold in a matter of minutes!!!

 

[Kevin54]

When redid my parents house this year to sell, I had a guy come in to refinish the tub and sink. He's been doing it for 25+ years and it only ran $385 for both.

Our Home Depot has a display out front in the lobby that you enter in to the store through for tub refinishing. What is done if they make up and acrylic liner that drops into the tub, then has a surround with it. It is for a local county area though. I don't know if you would have something like that in your area or not.

Before committing to $800, I'd be scoping out the Yellow Pages real well.

 

[collmorgen]

We had ours done. Don't remember what we paid (it was 14 years ago). I'll warn you that while it looks great, it probably wont stand up to daily use.

 

[gahrajmahal]

Wow, thanks a lot folks for the real world experience with the stuff. My son and daughter- in-law will be impressed with all your replies. Knowing my son, he would feel pretty good about a $300-$400 repair. I know they don't want to sink too much more $$ into the place. They would like it to look decent for the 5 or so years they plan to stay then maybe refinish again before selling. We don't have the time for a tear out and redo.

 

[venom50svt]

I use to do that for a living... Mostly directing our services to the motel industry.. I would do homes but it really was a pain.. Bathrooms can be small and to get the equipment in and isolate yourself so the smell isn't overly stinking up the house...
The process is strait forward, wash the tub, scrape off the caulking, wash and scour the tub with hydofloric acid to etch the surface, wash it down again, dry it and clean it with MEK and then dry it.
The vulnerable spot is the drain, it has to be VERY dry so moisture doesent creep under the new finish... Spray it with a urathane 2 part paint and let it dry.... Bare feet does not ruin the finish--- it is the abrasive cleaning that will ruin it..stevo

 

[AgentP]

All of the above replies are good info but what really is important to understand is that once you remove the original porcelain finish then it will never be the same (appearance and durability). All of the aftermarket refinishers are etching or removing the porcelain and applying a new product that will not survive the rigors the porcelain did for the last 90 years. I am building a house and purchased a claw foot tub; spent alot of hours searching for a tub with porcelain which I could live with.

 

[Steves32]

I use to do that for a living... Mostly directing our services to the motel industry.. I would do homes but it really was a pain.. Bathrooms can be small and to get the equipment in and isolate yourself so the smell isn't overly stinking up the house...
The process is strait forward, wash the tub, scrape off the caulking, wash and scour the tub with hydofloric acid to etch the surface, wash it down again, dry it and clean it with MEK and then dry it.
The vulnerable spot is the drain, it has to be VERY dry so moisture doesent creep under the new finish... Spray it with a urathane 2 part paint and let it dry.... Bare feet does not ruin the finish--- it is the abrasive cleaning that will ruin it..stevo

Your method seems to be the exception from what I see around here. I see them peeling off all the time & when it comes off, it's not etched underneath. Most don't even bother to remove the drain & overflow & simply mask them off & spray. That's usually the 1st place they start to fail.
It's used alot on homes for sale.

 

[Frank The Plumber]

About $400 for a fit in tub here.

Lasts 3 to 15 years, depends on the cleanliness of the guy doing it.

Keep in mind that if the tile is decent you would have to damage it badly to get a new tub in and out.

I tell most people that they should put in a new brass bodied waste and over flow on the tub and re pipe the drain,perhaps even eliminate the drum trap if there is one. This way the paint can get into the tough spots that the paint peels from first.

If you are doing a for the moment rehab on the cheap it's ok'ish, if you have a rare tub but do't want to spend a ton of money getting it really reglazed maybe. If you want real nice spend the money on real nice and pass on it.

 

[jrsulo]

Ive had 3 tubs reglazed for bathrooms ive done.....all done by different companys,and all 3 failed after about 3 years.....now i just replace the tubs !!

 

[jkeyser14]

We bought our house 3 years ago and the previous owners had put together a binder of receipts from work done on the house. One of the receipts shows that our tub was refinished about 8 years ago. There are a half dozen little chips out of the finish here and there, maybe an 1/8-1/4" in diameter. A couple were caused by us dropping heavy stuff on the tub while doing other work in the bathroom (doh!). I do have to say I'm impressed by how well it has held up, and even after chipping the surround area stays pretty well adhered and doesn't flake off. I just bought a little touch up epoxy at home depot to fix the chipped areas but I haven't tried it yet.

 

[Zeke]

I did my own with the cheap Rustoleum kit. It has been OK but prep is the key. I had seen a pro use some bondo as a repair before the finish. Mine rusted back through at those points. So, make sure they get all the rust from around the overflow and drain hole and if repairs are necessary, maybe use epoxy under an epoxy system.

 

[Tdbo]

Had one done for my mother back in the late 80's. It was $375 w/a 5 year warranty. Wanted her to tear it out and replace it but the bathroom fixtures had to be Coral and American Standard discontinued the color. Glad it had a 5 year warranty because they were back once a year redoing it. The finish would just come up in sheets and it was a total PITA. After my mom passed, I bought the house and just had Luxury Bath come in and do a tub overlay. One day and done.

 

[m289271]

Had one done for my mother back in the late 80's. It was $375 w/a 5 year warranty. Wanted her to tear it out and replace it but the bathroom fixtures had to be Coral and American Standard discontinued the color. Glad it had a 5 year warranty because they were back once a year redoing it. The finish would just come up in sheets and it was a total PITA. After my mom passed, I bought the house and just had Luxury Bath come in and do a tub overlay. One day and done.

I had the same situation. I t was great for a few years, but when it went bad, it did it quickly. I eventually had the cast iron tub recovered with a new tub liner and it was fine until I sold the house 10 years later.

 

[805gregg]

Just old junk, get a nice new insulated jucuzzi tub. His wife will love him.

 

[cowboyjosh]

Wow, thanks a lot folks for the real world experience with the stuff. My son and daughter- in-law will be impressed with all your replies. Knowing my son, he would feel pretty good about a $300-$400 repair. I know they don't want to sink too much more $$ into the place. They would like it to look decent for the 5 or so years they plan to stay then maybe refinish again before selling. We don't have the time for a tear out and redo.

You can pick up a nice Kohler for a few hundred bucks, but it will cost a small fortune to reno the bathroom and to swap out the old for the new; cause nothing goes as planned in remodeling. You say your son and dil want to stay in the house for about 5 years, in that case they are great candidates for a refinish. Even if they did go with the $800 bid, its still lots cheaper then replacing.

Cincinnati, huh? I was in Springboro (bout 40 miles north of Cincy) for Christmas, flew out of Dayton back to Colorado at 6:30 a.m. Ohio time this morning, been a long day.

 

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

$400 on our tub and it looks GREAT! I highly recommend it to others. The guy that did ours has years of experience and also did RV & boat showers.

 

[Plombob]

From a plumbing contractor-

Save your money.

We had a kitchen sink reglazed. It lasted about 3 years. When the finish started to come off, it was worse than the original condition of the sink. I agree with Steves32.

 

[Flathead Johnny]

i wonder if this is the stuff they use to refinish the tubs, its from Por15....my vote is just to buy a new one!

http://www.por15.com/WHITECOTE/productinfo/WCG/

 

[Daniel Dudley]

You only build a bathroom once...

IF you do it right. BTW, these Rebath people in my area say they can be in and out in one day. I'm not into saving money, But...

 

[Kevin54]

Although I had my parents house done, the guy guaranteed it, it was reasonably priced, and it looked great when it was done, I wouldn't do it to my house.

To the OP, if it is an old cast iron claw foot tub, and they don't have time for a redo, then by all means, have it redone by a pro that will give a good guarantee. Get some references from him so you can see some of his work. If it is the newer style of tub, I'd say just replace it. A good plumber can have a new one installed in a day. Doing it that way, at least you'd be one step ahead when it comes time to sell the house. Two things people look for in buying is a great bathroom and a great kitchen.