reglaze tub/tile

knox69

is it hard to do? no one here does it.in eastern,nc

Bud Cline

No one here does it either, it's snake oil.

Nestor_Kelebay

Knox69:

The "enamel" coating on a bathtub is technically a "powder coating". Powder coatings are VERY different from chemical cure coatings like epoxy paints.

A powder coating starts off life as a mixture of tiny clear plastic (most frequently polyester) resins and coloured pigments that get electrostatically sprayed onto a piece of metal. That metal will then be baked in an oven at from 350 to 850 deg. F for about a half hour to an hour. During that time, the plastic resins will melt together, encasing the coloured pigments as they do, to form a smooth and continuous film over the metal substrate. When that film cools, it will typically be about twice as hard and durable as chemical cure coatings like epoxy and moisture cure polyurethane paints.

So, even though an epoxy paint might seem like a very durable coating, it simply can't hold a candle to a powder coating, like the one on your steel bathtub or the one on the inside of your water heater's tank, or the powder coating on the cooktop of your stove.

Probably the hardest coating you're likely to have in your house is a special kind of powder coating (called a "ceramic coating") on the inside of your oven. It's made exactly the same way as any other powdered coating, but it's baked at about 1300 deg. F. With powder coatings, the hotter the baking temperature, generally the harder the coating.

So, the problem is that regardless of what some salesman might tell you, the paint he applies or sprays on simply won't be as hard and durable as the powder coating that your tub originally came with. The only way you can get that same hardness and durability is to replace the enameled steel with a new one.

Powder coating is also called "Enameled", or "porcelain enamel" or "vitreous enamel".
http://www.porcelainenamel.com/

knox69

where do you live

ccarlisle

Reglazing or refinishing involves some pretty heavy-duty chemicals and is not IMO a DIY job.

Involves hydrofluoric acid etching , polyester fill and a spray-on polyurethane.

And of course plenty of protection: personal, for the floor and walls, and for the plumbing...not an easy thing to do especially handling hydrofluoric acid and I'd highly recommend leaving this to a pro.

Bud Cline

I was referring to the pros that frequent this website. I can't speak for everyone but generally we all understand that those products don't work very well and don't last.