Saving Old Bathtub

[cathy jean]

Hello ... I tried searching through the forum to see if this topic had already been covered -- my apologies in advance if it has -- but I didn't find the answer to my question.

I am planning to remodel the guest bathroom in my house, which has an cast iron bathtub that is approximately 30 years old. The bathtub is in good shape, so I am hoping to just be able to have the area above the tub retiled and the shower doors replaced with new frameless ones.

When my contractor was here yesterday, he pointed out that the old adhesive from the old shower doors might leave stains (I can see some brown staining around the old adhesive on the doors now) and that when he removes the old tiles and Durock (like sheetrock) and replaces it that it probably won't line up exactly with the old along the edge of the tub and that there will likely be some discoloration exposed there.

Has anyone else ever dealt with these issues before? To me, it just seems wasteful to take a perfectly good tub and throw it away -- but then, we don't want to invest all this money in a bathroom remodel and have a tub that looks bad around the edges.

On this forum, I did see an advertisement posting for a product called Bath Brite

which I am curious about. Has anyone had any success with this product, or with any others? I guess I could always give it a try once the doors and walls are removed, and see if it cleans everything up .... but if it doesn't, then I will need to order a bathtub and put a halt on my project for a few weeks until I get the tub out and the new tub in.

Thank you in advance for any help, tips or suggestions you might have.

-Cathy Jean

[Todd H.]

I agree 100%

Bathtubs are routinely refinished. Look em up in your local yellow pages. The folks I used also did tile refinishing which you might consider as well if your tile is just ugly, but structurally sound. These same folks turned a lovely dated aquamarine tile job into a lovely white, covering all the grout as well and it looked fantastic.

The supplier I used used this process. There may be an affiliate in your area:

These before and afters match my experience (though mine weren't quite as dramatically awful in the "before" they were equally nice "after):

Best Regards,

-- Todd H.

[cathy jean]

Hi Todd

I just checked and there is a Kotts Koatings dealer in my area.

Can you advise how long you have had your refinishing done? (The one thing that I did find on this forum in regards to this issue is where so many people seem to have had their bathtubs peel later.) I guess I should add that even though this tub is in a guest bathroom, it does get used every day.

Thanks again!

-Cathy Jean

Todd H. wrote:

[Todd H.]

Hi Cathy,

I sold that house, but before getting the job done, I checked the references of the individual, all seemed to be actual people and not designated shills. One was an apartment owner who'd used the process in several buildings, and the refinish jobs on the tile had lasted 7 years at that point. Bathtubs I believe are easier to refinish than tile, for whatever reason.

-- Todd H.

[Pat]

It would be a shame to have to remodel your bathroom again shortly because the old tub didn't work out. Much better to replace it now. Perhaps you could give the tub to someone who would use it instead of sending it to the dump.

[mm]

I had a friend who removed the aluminum door frame around his bathtub and cleaned the walls and tub and put everything back. He was satisfied he had gotten all the crud out and left no marks.

So maybe you can get the work done in two stages, or maybe you can take out the doors before the contractor starts his work. Then you can use sof-scrub or the cleanser with the little chicken (hasn't scratched once) and clean the tub yourself before he even starts.

I think it is hard to tell now if can be cleaned or not, because you just can't do a decent job of rubbing when the frame is in the way. But not much will stick to the tub, and with the right product you can get almost anything off without damaging the tub.

I think when he says discoloration, he's trying to make sure you aren't disappointed in the job and disgusted with him, but that doesn't really mean there will be anything you can't rub off in a couple hours. Buy a lamb's wool buffer attachment for some power tool if necessary, although hand is better. (I can never control disk on power drills. How is one supposed to do that?)