Our little 1929 home has been slowly coming together over the years, but one of my projects I have been putting off is the tub. In the 5 years we have lived here I haven’t been able to enjoy a nice hot bath. It’s one of those “it’s clean, but it doesn’t look clean”. The sides are an old acrylic and the tub is old grungy porcelain.
The caulking seems to get moldy quickly because of the plastic side panels that bend to touch. Water gets in there and once a year I find myself removing it and caulking again. But even after its freshly caulked, it looks old. This is what I use to remove the old caulking.
When I came across Rustoleum Tub and Tile Refinishing Kit I thought it might be too good to be true. But with the way our tub looked, I had nothing to loose. The ending result was far better than what I could have imagined.
I felt a little under qualified for this project, so I do what I do best and research, research, research! The reviews were great, but something so permanent seemed a little bit intimidating still.
After I researched though, I felt like I could give it my best shot. Let me start by saying this process was ridiculously easy and saved me thousands of dollars.
It looks better than I thought it could and even my kiddos are impressed.
If you are going to try the process, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.
First, the reviews talk about the smell. They are right. Purchase a proper mask and make sure you ventilate the area well. I closed my kids doors and stuffed towels under the doors to make sure the scent didn’t effect their rooms.
Its a strong chemical smell and it lasts for 3-4 days. We made sure to plan a little mini vacation around this project. It was perfect since you have to wait three days to use water on the new surface as well.
The last thing to keep in mind is how the first coat adheres to the surface of the tub. Mine looked runny, uneven, and very thin. It made me very nervous, but apparently its normal. Wait and hour and the second coat goes on perfectly. I waited an additional hour and added a final coat at the end.
Make sure you do your research and watch the YouTube instructional video a few times prior to the process. But overall this project was one of the easiest, most cost effective home touches we’ve done.
Now excuse me while I enjoy my bath along with my face mask, candle and little sparking grape juice.
Have you seen our Bathroom Refresh I did a few years ago? Check that out here!!
Happy DIYing!!
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