Repainting An Enamel Bathtub

[hawkeye]

I had a clawback bath resurfaced by the professionals- cost $1200! And it lasted only 5 years (until the warranty expired!) - they couldn't repir the crack that appeared and said they'd have to strip it back and redo it from scratch for another $1200. Personally I wouldn't do it again. It may cost more for a new enamel bath but it will last so much longer.

[muppet]

Hi Guys

For those of you who have old enamel bath tubs with chips etc then read on:

Repainting An Enamel Bathtub
Chris Bennett for Mitre 10
Can you repaint an old enamel bathtub? Home handyman Chris Bennett looks at the options...

The general rule is that you can repair and repaint small areas of an enamel bath but if the whole bath is to be done, then it's best left to professionals.

The reason for this is that baths are "enamelled", a specialist process that cannot be done successfully at home (although there are bath-enamelling kits which can produce an acceptable result if they're used with care. With most kits it's longer than a week before you can re-use the tub.)

Small surface chips and scratches can be repaired using epoxy resin filler. Here's how:

Clean the area to be repaired making sure that all soap residue and grease are removed.

Fill the damaged area with resin and leave to dry.

Go over the area with fine wet and dry paper to make sure that the surface is smooth and level.

Paint with touch up enamel paint to match the existing surface.

I have seen bathtubs that have been painted using high quality enamel spray paint but they have only worn well for a short period of time and then started to peel. So the message is: if it's only for stop-gap measure you can apply paint to your old enamel bathtub, but if you're looking for a lasting usable finish, you should really get the job done professionally.

Regards