Have you refinished a bathtub?

[inkedmamajama]

Our landlord had our bathtub professionally refinished to take care of some rust stains and deep scratches, as well as the crumbling the overflow was doing...the problem is...

I hate it. I mean, it looks nice, the tub is now very white and nice looking, but when I run my fingers along it, it is no longer smooth porcelain. The tub has a texture to it now, and I can't stand it. And this wasn't a cheap thing to have done either, it cost over three hundred dollars, more expensive that the brand new bathtub at the hardware store that I wanted to replace the old tub.

Is there some advantage to refinishing the tub instead of replacing it that I can't see? My husband is well equipped to do all the labor for replacing and plumbing a new tub, and is already redoing the shower portion, so replacing the tub would not have really added much to his work.

Has anyone else had a tub refinished and what did you think of the results? will the texture 'soften' over time?

[inkedmamajama]

anyone?

[mamabutterfly]

I haven't done this but have considered doing it in the future. Have you looked up reviews of the process they used online, maybe askthisoldhouse or somewhere?
I also wouldn't like to have a rough surface to the tub, but I do always like to try to repair rather than replace, so I like the idea of trying it.

[annekevdbroek]

If you can replace the tub, I would do that. We had a tub refinished and eventually, no matter how careful you are, the finish starts to wear off. I would expect that it will need to be redone in 5 years at the maximum. We had it done because the tub has extensive tile work around it and we would have basically had to gut the bathroom to replace a grotty tub. However, if you are already taking down all the tile, I'd get the new tub.

[sunnysandiegan]

I rented part of a beach house for several years when I was single. The bath tub had been refinished. It turned out like you described. I got used to it, but I wouldn't choose to do it myself.

One reason people refinish versus replace is the labor costs are much lower. (You have that covered.)

Another reason is all the subsequent work involved with removal and replacement. (You have that partially covered.)

Another reason is preferring to not put something in the landfill when it still functions.

Another reason is being able to remove and replace a bathtub. In some older bathrooms/houses, you pretty much have to gut the entire bathroom and find a path to bring the old tub out and the new tub in. That often opens a whole big can of worms! When it is a cosmetic reason, sometimes it just isn't worth all the hassle.

[rcr]

We are planning to have ours refinished. DH is handy and could put in the new tub, but the old one is made of iron and would be a pain to get out of the house - we would have to tear down a few walls to get it out because it was built in the house. So we are leaving it and refinishing it.

[crl]

We thought about having a tub refinished, but all the reviews I read said it doesn't last. Replacing the tub would have mean ripping out originial 1930s tile and I think cutting the bathroom door opening wider to get the old one out. Plus the old tub was finished on one long side and one short side and I pretty much couldn't find a replacement tub like that. So replacing the tub meant remodeling the entire bathroom. We ended up just dealing with the old tub.

Our last rental place had had the tub refinished right before we moved in and it had a few places where the finish had come off within a few months. (I cleaned with my usual baking soda and vinegar.) It was smooth though.

Catherine

[miss_sonja]

Replacing a tub is usually a huge amount of work and isn't just the cost of the tub--it's replacing any tile around it, grout, caulk, etc. It's a huge job.

Refinishing isn't a perfect solution, but it's often the best option. Our tub is refinished, because when we did our bathroom remodel (a complete gut), we installed a vintage tub that had a badly discoloured finish. It needs to be refinished again, but I'll take the slight texture over a modern tub any day.

[karne]

We'll be refinishing ours because we'd have to cut a wider door opening to fit in a new tub, as well as take down part of a wall. No thanks. I can live with scratchy-maybe it will be less slippery?