After buying our first home, we decided to tackle all the renovations ourselves,
including the bathroom remodels. We removed the wallpaper, painted the vanity,
installed new floor and wall tile, and fixtures. However, we chose to not replace the bathtub
since it was in good condition. We refinished it. You know that scene
in Vikings when Ragnar tortures Floki in a cave with the Chinese water drip method?
He shouldn’t have bothered going through all that trouble. He should have just made
Floki refinish bathtubs. It was one of the worst,
most drawn-out experiences of my life. It was mentally and physically draining, time-consuming,
expensive, and completely pointless. I would never recommend it to anyone. Let’s start from the
beginning. I had 2 heavy, porcelain enameled steel bathtubs in my house. Apart from a couple of small
chips on the surface and some stains, they were in great shape, so we didn’t want to throw them
out. But the beige color didn’t match our new grey and white color scheme. I watched several YouTube
videos, referred to a couple of DIY forums and decided to paint them with this Rust-oleum Tub
and Tile refinishing kit that costs $30 at Home Depot. Every website said that it was
a cheap and easy way to refresh your bathroom as opposed to spending $300 on a new tub. It
claims to provide excellent adhesion, durability and color retention in high moisture areas
I bought JB Weld steel reinforced epoxy to patch small chips on the surface of the bathtubs.
3M sandpaper to smoothen the create an abrasive surface the epoxy could hold on to.
Lime-a-way to remove calcium and magnesium deposits, lime and rust.
High density foam rollers for a smooth finish. And the 2 part Rustoleum epoxy kit. Part A is
189 ml of Activator and Part B is 757 ml of a white Base. I added part a to part b
and mixed them thoroughly for 1 minute. I applied the epoxy with several sponges and
rollers. I followed the directions to a T, applying 2 coats within 6 hours of mixing.
I used Isopropyl alcohol to clean up smudges on tile. Each coat dried in an hour,
but I allowed the epoxy to fully dry for 3 days before exposing it to water.
The process was lengthy but the results were great. The one big downside was the fumes!
They are overpowering and linger in your home for at least 3 days. You have to use a proper
respirator and eye protection and constantly ventilate your bathroom and your home. I was
very pleased with the product for the first year and then it started yellowing and chipping off.
Fast forward to 2 months ago, we were getting ready to list and sell the house. I bought
another Rustoleum epoxy kit from Home Depot to patch the small chips and the yellowed areas.
That decision triggered a sequence of events during what I call Hell Week.
As soon as I applied a top coat of Rustoleum epoxy to a small area,
all the layers bubbled and started to peel off. I tried to salvage it by removing the epoxy in
the area affected and reapplying it to a large area. Didn’t work. It just kept peeling off.
I finally accepted that I need to strip the entire tub of epoxy and start
all over. We had to postpone listing our house and push all the showings by a week.
I bought several cans of Jasco Premium paint and epoxy remover from Home Depot
which cost $13 each. It claims to “strip multiple layers fast” which was a complete lie. It removed
just one layer at a time and worked so slowly. It took 2 days of scrubbing and scraping and
breathing in fumes to clean off all the epoxy from both tubs.
Now I was back to the start with two biscuit colored tubs that would turn off buyers. So,
as much as I hated it, I had to paint them again. This time, I bought Homax tough as
tile spray paint from Lowes for $39.97. It’s a one part refinishing paint for tubs, sinks and tile.
After cleaning and prepping the tubs, we sprayed 3 or 4 coats on each,
until it was a solid white color, with no patches. We waited an hour or so between each coat.
I don’t know if I’d say it was an easier product to work with because the fumes
and the smell were actually stronger than the Rustoleum epoxy kit. It was also very,
very messy. Every surface in the bathroom and the house was covered in a fine white dust. It looked
good though, and it seemed more durable than the Rustoleum product. Spray paint adhered well to
the tub compared to roll on paint. The whole experience was such a waste
of time and money. I hate that I fell for the current obsession with painting every surface of
your home white. Paint your tile, your grout, your brick, your beautiful solid wood kitchen cabinets,
paint the brick outside your home, just paint everything you can see. Performance should matter,
not appearance. Unfortunately, people value homes based on what pinterest or
home renovation shows tell them. Wood cabinets and beige tubs bring down the value of a home.
Instead of tub paint, why don’t we invest our time and money in materials that matter,
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In hindsight, if I had just left the tubs as is, beige or biscuit in color, it would have cost me
nothing and saved me so much time. I could have adapted the color scheme of
the rest of the bathroom to work with it. If I had removed the tub and installed a new
acrylic one, it would have cost me $300 each a couple of hours in labor.
If I had paid a professional refinishing company, it would have cost me around $500 each. They use
proprietary bonding agents to ensure a solid bond between the old surface and new finish, and
they guarantee that it lasts 10-15 years. Their product is a much higher quality than the cheap,
DIY stuff you can buy at a local hardware store.
The cost to repaint the tubs twice was around $200 each and dozens of hours of mindless labor. If I
put a dollar amount to my time, it was the most expensive option. Some of you might have had great
experiences with DIY tub and tile refinishing kits, but I would personally never use it again
and never recommend it to anyone. If you’ve had a similar experience with cheap, DIY products,
leave me a comment below. Also let me know what you think about this whole paint your appliances,
wood and brick trend and how we can break it. I’ll link my Patreon page in the description.
If you can support me I’d really appreciate it. A big thank you to everyone already supporting me.
Don’t forget to hit the like button and subscribe to my channel. Thanks for watching See ya.