What Is Involved with Bathtub Refinishing?

Most people think that bathtub refinishing is a rather simplistic job, but once you start to study what all is involved in doing one of these projects, it quickly becomes evident that it is anything but simplistic. As a matter of fact, many people do not even try to tackle refinishing a bathtub on their own and they may call in a professional in order to have this bathtub glazing done. If you're somebody that likes to do these projects on your own, there are a number of different steps which must be taken in order to ensure a professional finish. After all, bathtub refinishing is not done very often and the end product is going to be highly visible.

The first, and most important part is that you must make sure that the bathtub is prepared properly in order to accept the new glaze. This can really vary, depending on the type of tub that you are doing. For example, a claw foot bathtub that is made out of cast iron may need to be totally stripped of the old finish in order to repair any corrosion or rusting that may be taking place in the iron. For an acrylic bathtub, you will not generally need to go to such trouble but there may be specific things that need to be done in order for the finish to be as smooth as possible.

You're going to need to remove any type of foreign material from the bathtub, such as dried material on the inside of the tub and any caulking that may be around the edges. It is important for you to ensure that the entire tub is as free of these items as possible. Any leftover material is going to show up underneath the new finish and will be glaring at you, each and every time you look at the tub. Take enough time to ensure that you have done a good job of this part of the preparation work.

From there, you're going to need to tape off the entire area and cover everything within a wide radius. This is especially important whenever you are going to be spraying the glazing, as it can easily travel long distances and you will have a fine mist on everything that is uncovered. This is an important part of bathtub refinishing, as if you do not cover everything properly, you're going to be creating a lot of additional work for yourself.

Before the bathtub reglazing actually takes place, it is important for you to rough up the old surface in order to prepare it for the new surface to be sprayed on. This is another important aspect of bathtub refinishing, and it can make a large difference in how nicely the finished product is going to look. It may not only be necessary for you to rough sand the finish in order to prepare it, you might also need to use some kind of an acid wash so that the old surface is thoroughly pitted, which will give it a nice surface for the reglazing project.