Tub refinish or overlay

[CarLuver]

i have a rental house where the tub has some rust spots . i fear it will eventually rust through so i wanto take care of it before it does. i don't want to rip it out and put in a new one , but instead have it refinished or relined.

So anyone have expereince with having either one done? how long has it lasted and can you give me a general idea of how much it cost?

 

[Kruse]

We had two claw foot tubs refinished about 20 years ago. They’ve held up well. Can’t remember the price, but it was a dad and his daughter and they argued the whole time.

 

[TmanP]

We had a cast iron tub refinished 15 or so years ago, then re-done again a few years ago.
It's been largely durable, and only needed to be redone because it started to peel in a few spots where it was damaged (where the shower curtain rod had fallen, I think). So they're not particularly durable in that sense, but you could probably get a decade plus out of it if you were reasonably careful with it.

 

[CleanSump]

Who does it or where do you purchase kits?

 

[skyactiv]

The cost of having a tub liner installed is absurd and the product sucks. My parents have a tub liner at their Lake Erie house and a portion of it will compress and pop back up when moving around in the tub. Experienced the same thing at a Myrtle Beech hotel that had a tub liner.

If the tub is rusting in spot(s) it may not be a good candidate for refinishing.

Make sure you get a two part product if you refinish it yourself.

If you think buying bathtub spray paint will hold up, whatever. Reviews are worthless because many spray paint a tub, write a review 2 days later how great it looks. What about two years later?

 

[zzyzzx]

I would not use a liner.

 

[benjy]

thanks for the link! my old cast iron tub is stained + cleans poorly!! BUT will NEVER rust thru!! thought about getting something to make it look better + figures some sort of epoxy would be best. surprised the install vid dont mention smell or use respirators as most epoxies are BRUTALLY strong smelling!!

 

[JustinH]

I had a cheap rental house, I used a dab of jb water weld on a tub that had a rust spot. It held, and only looked partially ghetto.

 

[Spector]

Miracle Method in house we we about to sell. Finished product looked great, counter and tub were refinished. Based upon what I saw I think it would be years of use before any wear. I think two bathrrom counters and one tub were like 2000-3000, really smells for a day or so.

 

[CarLuver]

guess i need to get a couple of quotes on refinishing. this kind of stuff i leave to the pros .

 

[Wolf359]

The liners look horrible and as mentioned, they flex when filling with water. No one really does a liner anymore. The refinishing doesn't really look good, if you get quotes make sure you check the quality of the work. It always ends up peeling a few years later so that after 3-5 years, it looks bad again. I just bite the bullet and replace the tub. Usually costs me around 2k, the tub is 3-400 and then the surround and shower valve, parts end up in the 1k range and then labor can be another 1k give or take depending whether it's a 1.5 day job or a 2.5 day job. I think those guys that advertise bathrooms want something like 8k and they have 8 guys working but still charge a lot but get it done in a day. I usually just warn tenants that it will take at least a day with a 2 or 3 man crew and they're ok with it as they're happy to have a new bathroom. When the tub looks like crap, prospective tenants pass on the unit so the money you save by refinishing gets loss by either having to lower the rent or having it empty for an extra month.