How Refinishing Badly-Damaged Tubs?

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Buy a bathtub refinishing kit at a home improvement center. Save yourself time by buying a whole kit that has everything you need to refinish your tub. Most kits come with tub cleaner, sandpaper, primer, refinishing paint, a paint tray, a brush, and a roller. Check that the kit comes with a durable resin coating for your tub. Some cheaper kits come with an epoxy coating, which chips and discolors faster.


Tub refinishing kits work to refinish all kinds of bathtubs including ceramic, porcelain, acrylic, fiberglass, and enamel tubs. The kits will provide a new porcelain-like finish to these kinds of tubs. Ventilate the bathroom, cover the floors, and put on protective gear. Open up all the windows and put a fan in the bathroom to ventilate it.


Cover the floors with heavy-duty plastic sheets to keep them safe during the refinishing process. Put on a face mask and goggles. You can also drape plastic sheets over fixtures like the toilet and sink to protect them. Clean the bathtub with the cleaner from the kit. Read the directions on the cleaner to apply it to the tub and use a sponge to scrub the tub clean


Rinse the tub out, then go over it with the sponge and cleaner 2 more times to remove any soap scum and stains before you refinish it. If your kit did not come with cleaner, then purchase an industrial strength bathtub cleaner to use. Let the tub completely air dry, or speed up the process with towels and a hair dryer.


Sand the whole tub with the sandpaper in your kit to remove the old finish. Start with the lowest-grit sandpaper from your refinishing kit and sand the whole surface of the tub in circular motions by hand, or with an electric sander. Work your way up to the highest-grit sandpaper in your kit until the tub is completely smooth.

How to Fix a Leaky Bathtub Faucet?

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Dripping bathtub faucets can increase your water bill every month. Many people attempt to turn the faucet handles tighter and inadvertently shred the seals even further. Although a plumber is needed to fix major problems, you can repair most broken washers, gaskets and seals yourself with a few special tools.


If you are unable to find a bath socket wrench, you can use a vice grip to hold onto the stem bonnet and loosen it. Insert the seat wrench into the opening where the faucet was. It has an elongated end so that you can stick it deep into the seat and turn it counterclockwise to remove the seat. The seat is the back portion of the faucet that extends into the pipe.


Turn the water back on and test your repair job. If you spring a new leak, you may want to call a plumber. The finish should not be affected by you removing the tape, but with some finishes, it still may not be ready for use. Read the instructions on the bathtub finish you purchased to know how long it needs to cure completely before you use the bathtub again.


Press the razor into the tub surface at a 45 degree angle, then slide it into the caulk repeatedly to scrape it up. If any proves harder to remove, scrape it off with 120 grit sandpaper. This may be the longest, hardest portion of the job, as all the caulk needs to be removed. Rinse or brush away the caulk as you remove it so you can easily see what you’re doing.


Check the drain shoe from the access panel you cut earlier so see if any water is leaking underneath your tub. Check with your city’s waste department to find out how to properly dispose of the old bathtub. Don’t attempt to lift a cast-iron or steel tub out by yourself since they can be extremely heavy.

How Using a Bleach Solution?

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Open the windows and doors in the area for ventilation. When using bleach, it’s always a good idea to create good ventilation. Try to open as many nearby windows as you can, particularly if there’s one in the bathroom. If there’s not a window in the bathroom, place a fan blowing air out of the bathroom toward an open window.


Put on gloves and goggles. Choose gloves that won’t let the mold through, such as rubber cleaning gloves or latex gloves. Don’t touch the mold with your hands. Similarly, goggles are a good idea, as you don’t want to flip mold spores into your eyes accidentally. You may also want to wear a dust mask that filters out mold. These precautions will also protect you from the bleach.


Mix 1 cup (0.24 L) of bleach into 1 gallon (3.8 L) of water. Measure out the water first, and then pour the bleach into the water. Use a spoon or a paint stick to stir it together so it is is well mixed. Try not to splash it as you’re stirring. Make sure you never mix bleach with ammonia, as it creates toxic gases.


If you prefer, you can start out with an antifungal cleaning solution that doesn’t contain ammonia, then follow up with bleach after you get most of the mold off. Dip a sponge or cloth into the bleach solution and scrub down the mold. Squeeze out the excess and begin scrubbing the moldy areas. Knock off as much mold as you can and dip the cloth or sponge back into the bleach solution as needed.


You can also rinse out the cloth in running water before dipping it back in the solution so you’re not returning as much mold to your cleaning solution. Use a scrubbing brush where the mold won’t come off. If you have areas where you’re having trouble removing the mold, dip a toothbrush or other scrubbing brush into the cleaning solution. Run it over the moldy areas, using a small circular motion to get the mold off.

How Preventing Future Growth?

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Fix any leaks you can see. If a leak is causing the problem, it’s time to take care of that! Replace leaky faucet heads, for instance, or if the leak is more than you can handle, call in a professional to find and fix the leak. If you don’t fix the leak, the mold will just return.


Spray the area down with vinegar after every shower. To help prevent the mold from coming back, keep a spray bottle in your bathroom. Then, spray down the walls and tub after you get done with your shower. The vinegar will help kill the mold spores. If the smell bothers you, add a few drops of essential oil, such as peppermint, citrus, or tea tree oil, to help cover up the scent.


Air out the bathroom after you shower. If you have an exhaust fan, use it. If you don’t, make sure to keep the door to the bathroom open after you shower so the air can dry out. Too much humidity in a small space can lead to mold. If you don’t have an exhaust fan, try placing a fan in the door to blow the air into the rest of your home.


Clean the bathroom once a week. Use a disinfecting cleaner to go over your shower and scrub it down. Pick a day to do it each week to make it easier to remember, and set up a reminder if you forget. Make sure to change out your sponge or cleaning brush regularly, as it can grow mold, too.


Use your air conditioning in the summer to keep the humidity low. Pulling humidity out of the air is one of your AC’s main jobs, so you should run it in the summer when it’s humid out. If you don’t have an AC, try using a dehumidifier to reduce the humidity. If possible, keep the humidity in your home under 60%.

How to Refinish Bathtubs?

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If you’re hoping to give your bathroom a new look, refinishing your bathtub can be a less expensive alternative to replacing it if you don’t like the color or it’s simply looking dingy and old. Applying a new finish to your tub really only requires a thorough cleaning, a bit of scraping, and some patience. Once you’re armed with the right tools, your tub can be good as new in a weekend.


Use commercial tub cleaner on the entire tub. With all of the caulk removed, spray a commercial strength bathtub cleaner over the entire tub surface. Then use a clean rag or sponge to thoroughly clean the tub. You may have to repeat this step more than once to get all of the soap scum and grime out of an old tub.


It must be completely clean before moving on. Inspect the tub for any leftover silicone, caulk, or grime. Once you’re finished, take a step back and make sure you haven’t missed anything. Any grime, caulk, or debris left in the tub will prevent the new finish from sealing properly. If you spot anything still in the tub, repeat the appropriate step to clean or scrape it away.


If yours needs to be mixed, follow the directions on the package closely to ensure the mixture comes out right. Different finishes require different approaches, so it’s best to follow the instructions on your label. You will need to purchase “reglazer” or a bathtub “finish” that’s made specifically for bathtubs. You can usually find it at your local hardware store.


Recaulk the seams you removed the caulk from before. It’s best to use a non-silicone caulk that has anti-mildew properties. Silicone does not adhere well to bathtub finishes. Apply the caulk by squeezing the tube in an even bead along all of the seams that you removed the caulk from earlier.

How Dismantling the Faucet?

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Gather the proper tools. You will need a monkey wrench, bath socket wrench or vice grip pliers, a Philips screwdriver, a flat-head screwdriver, a jar gripper, plumber’s grease, a rag, Teflon tape and possibly tub caulk. You may also need a hair dryer.


Turn off the water intake to your house. You will need access to the pipes for the next hour or so. Tell family members or tenants that they will not have water during this time. Open the hot and cold valves on the bathtub faucet. This will drain any remaining water in the pipes.


Insert a Philips head screwdriver into the hole and unscrew the handle from the wall. Over time, handles can corrode and weld the faucet on. Use a hand dryer to heat the handle and loosen it. Don’t use too much force or it can break. Call a plumber if your handle breaks or will not come off.


Unscrew the trim and the collar from the wall by hand. The trim is the decorative piece that fits around the outside of the faucet, generally just behind the handle, while the collar is generally a tubular piece that fits around the internal faucet parts. They should unscrew fairly easily. You can use a hair dryer to loosen them as well. Repeat for the other handle if your tub has two.


Set the faucet handle inserts, faucet handles, screws, trim and collar parts aside in a small container. You will need to reconnect them in a similar fashion when you are done fixing the faucet. Remove the stem bonnet, which is the packing nut that holds the stem in place. These are sometimes also called “cartridges.” Insert a bath socket wrench and turn it counterclockwise.

How Replacing Parts?

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Identify faulty parts. Look at the parts you have just removed. You must find the part to replace. The best way to ensure you will fix the leak is to fix all the wearable parts on both hot and cold faucet valves. Locate replacement parts. Take your old parts to a hardware store or home center.


Since there are thousands of replacement parts available, bringing your old parts with you will ensure you purchase the correct replacements. In some cases, the parts may need to be purchased from a plumbing supplies distributor. Replace parts inside the stem bonnet first. You can replace the washers or the entire stem and bonnet portion of the faucet.


Grease each new part with plumber’s grease before screwing it back on. Replace the seat washer. Unscrew the seat washer screw at the back of the seat. Peel off the rubber seat washer. Replace the seat washer screw and the seat washer after greasing them. Screw the seat back into place with the seat wrench. Tighten it with your hand. It should be tightly sealed but easy to remove by hand.


Replace the bonnet washer. Remove the bonnet washer from the end of the bonnet. Grease it and replace it on the bonnet. Replace the packing nut. Remove the packing nut in the middle of the stem bonnet. Pry the rubber-packing washer from the nut with a flat-headed screwdriver. Grease the stem threads on the front of the stem and insert it into the bonnet.


Replace the packing washer. Grease your new packing washer and place it in front of the greased packing nut. Replace the bonnet. Apply some pipe joint compound to the threads in your bonnet. Insert the bonnet and tighten it with your bath socket wrench or vice grip. Replace the collar, faucet trim, faucet handle, faucet screw and faucet insert. Repeat on the other side to replace parts in the opposite handle.

How Cleaning the Tub?

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Turn on your bathroom fan and open the doors and windows. The fumes from the cleaning agents and bathtub reglazers are dangerous, so it’s important that you ensure your bathroom is well ventilated before getting started. You should also open the doors and windows in the rooms adjacent to the bathroom for air flow.


If you don’t have a fan or a window, be sure to open as many windows in the adjacent room as possible to increase airflow and allow the fumes to exit. Use a box fan to increase air flow. The fan will not only help to ensure air is being circulated through the bathroom, but it will also help to dry the bathtub faster. The tub will need to be completely dry before moving on from a number of steps in the refinishing process.


Place the box fan in the window for maximum circulation. If you don’t have a bathroom window, place it in the bathroom doorway instead. Use a putty knife to cut away the caulk sealing the tub. All the caulk will have to be removed before you can refinish the tub. Most of the caulk will be in the seam where the tub meets the wall and the floor, but there may also be a strip that’s sealing any glass shower doors over the tub.


To remove the caulk, slice into it with the edge of the putty knife lengthwise, like you’re splitting it in half. Continue to slice into the caulk like that until it becomes loose enough to cut out. Once there are a number of slices through the caulk, it will be easier to use the putty knife to pry up and remove the caulk.


Remove any remaining caulk with a razor blade and sandpaper. A razor blade isn’t very effective for large deposits of caulk, but it will do wonders on hard to remove, thin layers than remain after most of the caulk has been removed. Most caulk can be found where the tub meets the wall, but in bathtub showers with glass doors instead of a shower curtain, there may also be caulk where the door fixtures meet the tub.

How Taping off the Tub?

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Tape off the edges of the tub with masking tape. Some bathtubs are not freestanding fixtures and are housed within a painted housing. If your bathtub is set within a wood or plaster housing, use painters tape to tape off the edges of the tub to prevent the new bathtub reglazing from getting on anything other than the tub itself. If your bathtub is free standing, you can skip this step.


Wrap the spout, handles and anything else that’s not the tub in plastic. Everything that’s staying in your bathtub that isn’t the bathtub itself needs to be covered before you start the refinishing process. Make sure the shower head, any exposed plumbing, bath nozzle and anything else you don’t want refinished is covered in plastic. Once you cover things in plastic, use painters tape to secure the plastic in place.


Use paper or plastic to cover the walls of the shower. The walls of the shower should be covered if they’re not a part of the tub itself. You can hang masking paper or loose plastic from the wall using painters tape to secure it in place. If the shower walls are a part of the bathtub, you may want to refinish them along with the tub, rather than taping them off.


Apply a bonding agent to the surface of the tub if it’s made of iron. Iron tubs need a bonding agent to help the new finish seal in place. Some bonding agents can be painted on while others need to be sprayed on. Follow the directions on the agent you purchase closely for good results. You can buy bonding agents for iron tubs at your local hardware store.


Mix some reglazer per its instructions. Reglazer, or finish, is like a thick paint that you’ll apply to the tub to serve as its new surface. Some tub glazes come in self contained cans for you to spray on, while others are meant to be mixed and applied using rollers or paint brushes. Be sure the bonding agent is completely dry before applying the new finish.

How Applying the New Finish?

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Apply the new finish over the tub in smooth, even rows. If you are using a spray on finish, hold the can about 12 inches (30 cm) from the tub and apply it from left to right. Don’t back track, instead, keep spraying it from left to right in the same direction to create even, overlapping coats. If you are painting the finish on, roll it in one direction for the same reasons.


Apply one coat of the finish, taking your time to ensure you cover every bit of the tub with an even layer. Do not touch the finish after you lay it on or it may create permanent marks. Give the finish 15 minutes to dry. You’ll be applying additional coats of the glaze or finish to the tub, but each coat needs a few minutes to cure before applying the next.


If it’s a particularly humid day or your bathroom isn’t well ventilated, you may want to wait a little bit longer. Letting each coat dry slightly before applying the next will help them better seal and adhere to one another. Add 2 more coats, waiting 15 minutes between each. You should have a total of three coats applied to your tub before you’re done, though each coat does not need to be completely dry before applying the next one.


Waiting 15 minutes should make the previous coat tacky enough to adhere to the next. Apply each coat in the same, smooth, left to right fashion whether painting or spraying. Make sure you cover the entire tub with each coat. Give the tub at least a day to dry. Don’t run any water through the tub or attempt to touch the new finish for at least one full day.


Keep the doors and windows open with the fan running if possible to keep the area ventilated and aid in the drying process. Don’t let anyone use the toilet in the bathroom while it dries as the fumes can still be dangerous. Remove the tape and plastic. With the tub mostly dry, you can now remove all of the plastic, tape and paper you used to protect the walls and hardware in your tub.