Anyone had success with re-glazing (or re-enameling) a bath tub?

Watched a few Tube-of-You vids on re-finishing tubs.  They all seem basically the same:

• Remove caulk
• Clean, clean, clean some more then clean again
• Scuff surface
• mask drain and any other fittings with tape
• Mix the 'paint' (epoxy, enamel?)
• Optional step, mix some of the 'paint' with a mild abrasive and cover the bottom for anti slip
• Apply by pouring and scrapping, rollering, brushing etc
• Some show using a heat gun to cure and 'tighten' the paint for a smooth finish
• Remove masking tape before fully cured
• Revel in your awesome manliness (I give women more credit than basking in their own glory so this isn't sexist)

So, questions.  Is it as easy as it looks?  Any brands to definitely seek out or avoid?  What is the paint they use?

And, the most important.  How important is the prep?  Prep is always the most important part of any job, but what are we looking at here?  I spent several hours yesterday removing the shower door then removing all traces of caulk with a combination of mechanical and chemical means.  Then I cleaned it with Ajax powder and again with TSP.  I hope to pick up a kit in the next couple of days and refinish it on Saturday.Anything else to look out for?  tips?

BTW, not that it matters, but this is on one of our rental,s not our own house.

TIA

I did it with a kit from home depot about 4 years ago. It looked great for about 2 years, then started to scratch on the bottom visibly (but we also had 2 infants during that time so baths every night and lots of toys in the tub). Since I painted a blue bathtub white, it was really visible. We have since re-done the whole tub/shower with a 'bath fitters' thing.

I feel like I put the stuff on too thin when I did it. It stinks like crazy, need windows open and stuff. It will take multiple days to do. I think I did about 3 days after work. Prep one night, first coat, second coat second night, rebuild the rest of the shower and re-caulk corners third night. Or something like that. The kit will have it's own prep cleaner in it. Also waiting to make sure all the water is dried out on the cleaning steps can be frustrating.

For a short term refresh, I think it is great. I don't know what the heck you would do after you've done it once however and it is starting to scratch and flake. I did not do the abrasive stuff in the bottom or heat anything to cure, but my kit was a cheaper kit and didn't say to do any of that.

In reply to Robbie :

Good info thanks.

As I said, several hours of prep the other day.  I can put in a couple of hours each evening and all the time needed over the weekend.  We don't' have any showings scheduled, but I've put up a sign saying the tub is being prepped for re-glazing so any potential tenants can (I hope) see we're good caring landlords who take pride in their property.

thanks gain.

Home kits are good for flips but will fail as said above quickly. They also have a strange texture to them. If you do all the prep and cleanup the guys that come out and respray are not to bad. ~250$ or so even in California. 500$ if they do everything. 

Paid a pro to do a cast iron clawfoot tub enamel repair. As stated it stinks so get the family out of the house. It lasted AFAIK.

Be careful if it starts to peel. They did our old apartment and when it peeled we had sharp edges that left some nasty cuts on my feet.

Wally said:

Be careful if it starts to peel. They did our old apartment and when it peeled we had sharp edges that left some nasty cuts on my feet.

Ekk, not good.  thx for the heads up.  Do you know what caused it to crack and peel?

Adrian_Thompson said:

Wally said:

Be careful if it starts to peel. They did our old apartment and when it peeled we had sharp edges that left some nasty cuts on my feet.

Ekk, not good.  thx for the heads up.  Do you know what caused it to crack and peel?

It's a crummy solution basically. 

I’d guess either poor prep or the coating didn’t like sticking to porcelain. The came and repaired it but the repair didn’t last very long.

I’ve had great success paying pros. 

I have had no success with DIY kits. 

I think this is another "Pay the man" situation.

I paid a dude $240 to do one of my bathtubs a few months ago.  Between the time he and his assistant spent cleaning and prepping the job and him spraying the job with pro-grade materials I feel it was money well spent.

Well  crap. I may have wasted many many hours and $80. Since postings this I thoroughly cleaned and prepped the tub at least a half dozen times exactly per the instructions. Used a kit from Krylon purchased at Sherwin Williams. it’s a two part epoxy paint that comes out very thin after mixing. I applied three thin coats exactly following the instructions. Even though it went on thin it soon started to dry and had a lot of brush marks. Instructions say the brush marks pull out as it’s dry. This 20 hours later. 

Can they be wet sanded/ buffed out?

In reply to Wally :

I don’t think so. It’s two part epoxy, once it’s cured it’s cured.  

It can be sanded and buffed like anything else, but the thin coats might mean it will be hard to sand it out without blowing through it in places.

If I had caught this thread sooner I would have recommended the spray epoxy.  I did that in my first house sometime around 2010 and it still looks good.  It was two spray cans.  You put one in the freezer to reduce its pressure and one in a bucket of hot water for a while to increase the pressure.  Then you mate the tops together and it pushes the catalyst into the other can.  Shake, apply, done.  Catalyst time is long enough for two coats.  Put the mixed can in the fridge and recoat in 24 hours.

One word of advice.  MASK EVERYTHING.  Fortunately mine was in the middle of a full remodel so I didn't have flooring or a shower surround in place yet.  The overspray is intense.  The whole room will be in a fog of white epoxy.

But I was very happy with the results.   This photo doesn't highlight the tub, but you can see some of the gloss on the edge.

I will also say that mom and dad have had two of their tubs done with Bath Fitter and they are very happy.

 DANG IT I wish I'd known about the spray stuff. I used the Rustoleum and it's lasted a couple years but def have brush lines and drips and all that. Dropping something can chip it, happily the kiddos haven't noticed and started peeling it yet. Maybe they're not little monkeys like me -- I could never leave anything like that alone.

We did our tub since it always looked dirty no matter how clean it was. I'm not into poisoning myself so I got a $35 mask from Home Depot and we rented a hotel for the weekend. The original was off-white so I blended it at one of the edges and it looks okay. Good enough for selling. As long as a curtain is in there no one will think twice

Dang it Curtis, you need to waste more time here and answer in a timely fashion.

I"ve decided to live with it as it's a rental and I don't actually have to live with it.  If it's an issue, I've learnt my lesson and will pay to have it fixed.  I still change my own garage door springs though!!!

I'm so sorry.  I'll be far less ambitious with work in the future so I can spend more time here