Bathtubs, like any other furniture at your home, get old and dirty, but that is absolutely not a reason to curse your broke life or replace it with a new one. By investing a little time, and money and a pinch of patience you can refinish your bathtub to look like just a newly bought one!
Follow the following instructions and tips to be a pro in bathtub paint.
What do you need?
Here are some of the things which you need if you want to paint your bathtub on your own.
- Foam paintbrush
- Mini roller
- Paint tray
- Disposable gloves
- Utility knife
- Canvas drop cloth
- Scrubber pads
- Caulking tools
- Sponge
- Rag cloth
- Abrasive cleaner
- Bleaching powder
- Sandpaper
- Epoxy
And a little time and patience!
Steps:
Prepare your workspace and gather all the things you need.
Before starting, make sure you have all the required things and a spacious workspace. Spread the drop cloth and arrange the materials neatly within reach of your hand. Also, make sure that you don’t have any precious objects or furniture near you and breathe some air.
Clean your bathtub properly.
Instead of starting to paint directly, it’s advisable to clean your bathtub properly. Make sure you take out all the metal pieces out of the bathtub.
Put on your disposable gloves and start scrubbing the bathtub as thoroughly you can. Sprinkle the bleaching powder and scrub the tub to remove the stains, if any. Then use an abrasive cleaner to rub your bathtub properly. Use the caulk removal tool to remove all the caulk from your bathtub and make it really clean.
Wash your tub with clean water and wipe it dry with a rag cloth.
Repair any existing surface damage on your bathtub.
After cleaning and drying your bathtub, use epoxy to repair any cracks or chips on your bathtub. Use a waterproof and sandable epoxy that can take on paint later. Repair as much as possible since this will ensure you fewer efforts during the landing step.
Repairing all the surface damage on your bathtub will make the surface smoother and thus makes the paint look great.
Use sandpaper to sand the tub.
Take the sandpaper sheets and sand your bathtub properly. Make sure you do it evenly to get a comparatively polished surface. Also, don’t forget the repaired areas! Have patience and polish the surfaces taking great care and time, since this step will pay you off later.
Start painting your bathtub.
Finally, your tub is now ready to get painted. Open all the doors and windows of your workspace for proper ventilation and ensure that there is enough light. Natural light would be great, if possible at all. Take a rag cloth and wipe the tub clean so that no sand dust remains.
Then, on the painting tray, take out the paint A and B and mix them well. Take your mini roller and start painting with light and even strokes. Don’t over the already painted areas since the paint tends to dry up quickly and would leave a non-smooth texture.
After you are finished with painting the major and free surfaces of your bathtub, it’s time to pay attention to the smaller corner areas. Take a smaller paintbrush or even foam and paint the roller-unreachable areas.
Coat the bathtub for the 2nd time with paint.
Leave the first coat to dry properly for an hour. Don’t rush at all. Repeat the above process of painting the bathtub for 2nd coating your tub. Make sure you don’t over paint any area or under-paint it. Pay equal attention to each and every part of your bathtub to get a smooth and flawless surface.
Re-caulk and clean the bathtub.
After the 2nd coat, leave the bathtub for 24 hours to dry properly. Make sure not to wet the tub yet. Clean the tub with finesse and look for any remaining dirt or paint stain in unwanted areas near the bathtub/tile. Use a clean piece of rag cloth to just dry wipe your bathtub.
Exposing your bathtub to water.
Once you are finished with all the painting and drying and cleaning, it’s time for the bathtub to get water exposure. Note that you must not expose your bathtub to water for at least 3 days of painting the 2nd coat.
Your re-painted bathtub is ready now and it’s time now to jump into the bathtub for some relaxing bathing experience as if it’s a new one made by you just for you!
