How To Remove Scratches From Bathtub

How To Remove Scratches From Bathtub – Q: When we removed the rubber mat in my son’s fiberglass bathtub, we found black stains. Attempts to clean with mold and mildew remover and soft scrubs with bleach had no effect. The tub was installed in 2005, but we recently noticed stains. No dye is used in it. How can we remove the stain?

A: Fiberglass tubs and shower tub combinations are lightweight, which makes them easy to install, and they are often inexpensive. But the finish is prone to scratching, cracking and staining. And, as you’ve discovered, getting rid of stains isn’t easy.

How To Remove Scratches From Bathtub

Before you give up on trying to remove stains, try the cleaning procedure recommended by Home Depot for tough stains on fiberglass: Apply a paste of baking soda and water to the stain, and cover with a towel soaked in vinegar. Wait an hour, then scrub with a cloth or sponge. rinse Wipe again with a clean microfiber cloth.

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If the stains remain (and there’s a good chance they will), one option is refinishing the tub. National Refinishing in Chantilly (703-327-4799; nationaltubandtile.com), which specializes in refinishing bathroom and kitchen surfaces, has several “before” photos on its website that show stained fiberglass tubs looking worse than your tub. The “after” photos show the shiny results of the new finish, but, of course, the pictures were taken when the finish was new. National Refinishing and other tub-refinishing companies make stained fiberglass tubs look new by spraying them with acrylic epoxy. National Refinishing charges $425 for the tub alone or $995 for the tub and shower surround. If you have tile around the tub, the company can refinish it, and even the grout lines, using the same material.

If you base the price of a new tub on a budget model, having a professional do the same as buying a new tub – or even more. At Home Depot, for example, a standard 60-inch-long drop-in tub starts at about $155 if you buy one with a porcelain enamel finish over steel, or about $254 if you opt for an acrylic tub. But when you replace a bathtub, its cost is only part of the equation. Unless you’re competent enough to do the job yourself, you’ll need to hire people to make the switch, including a plumber to make the connections. And it may take some work to get the new tub to fit properly with the tile or whatever is on the walls surrounding the current tub. Given these costs, installing a new tub makes more sense as part of a bathroom remodel than as a stand-alone way to handle stains.

If refinishing makes sense but the cost is too steep, consider a do-it-yourself tub refinishing kit. Rust-Oleum’s tub and tile refinishing kit costs $23.70 at Home Depot. One kit should be sufficient for the recommended two coats on a standard bathtub.

But do DIY finishes work? Home Depot’s online catalog includes reviews from nearly 1,300 customers, who gave it an average rating of four stars, with nearly half of reviewers giving it five stars. But at least 170 people assigned only one star. They often complain that the finish bubbles or doesn’t adhere well. A Rust-Oleum product-support representative, who gave his name only as Arthur, said that when problems do occur, it’s usually because the surface wasn’t cleaned properly or as previously specified by the instructions, or because someone failed to remove it. All residue before applying new finish. Sometimes people brush too much back and forth or apply too thick a coat, which can also prevent it from healing properly, he said. Temperature and relative humidity are also important.

How To Repaint Your Bathtub

Professional refinishers spray on the new finish, which if done correctly should result in a smooth, even coating. Rust-Oleum recommends applying its finish with a brush or ¼-inch nap roller, so good painting techniques are essential to achieve a smooth, even coat. The product-support specialist suggested starting in the back corner and working toward the front in small sections, perhaps two feet by two feet. Bubbles may appear after the finish is finished, but the finish is self-leveling, so they should disappear as the finish cures. But if the finish separates after you apply it, something went wrong in the preparation. Stop and find out before you coat the entire tub.

A DIY finish should last at least several years, a Rust-Oleum representative said. At that point, you can redo all the prep steps and apply a new coat or two of finish, he said.

If it seems like a lot of work for the expected life of the finish, or if you don’t want to tackle this job in the first place, you can try: buy a new mat for the tub floor and cover the stains. Out of sight, out of mind — until it’s time to rebuild. Acrylic bathtubs are a popular choice because they are durable, but they are also prone to scratches. If you have an acrylic bathtub with scratches, you may be wondering how to remove them. Don’t worry about that because we did the research, and this is what we found.

While acrylic bathtubs are susceptible to scratches, these can be easily removed with elbow grease and patience. To remove scratches, you will need:

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Removing scratches from your acrylic bathtub may take some effort, but if you follow the right steps, you can even regain its former shine. Read on as we guide you through the process of removing scratches from your acrylic bathtub and more.

Made from acrylic sheets and has fiberglass reinforcement, acrylic bathtubs are one of the more common types of bathtubs on the market.

Although acrylic bathtubs are durable, cheap and lightweight, you can easily get scratches on the material. Thankfully, it’s also easy to remove scratches from bathtubs made of acrylic materials.

Not all scratches can be smoothed, especially if the scratch is very deep. However, it’s still best to remove as much as you can to maintain your bathtub.

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Before you start removing scratches from your acrylic bathtub, there are a few things you need to prepare to help:

The first thing you should do is clean the scratched area as much as possible. To do this, use warm water and dish soap on a dry, clean cloth to rub it into the area.

You can also use rubbing alcohol for this. The point is to clear the area of ​​any loose dirt or debris.

From there, you can determine how deep the scratch is in your acrylic bathtub by running your fingernail and see if it will snag. If your fingernail only runs along a slight bump, the scratches are mild and you can simply buff the area.

How To Clean A Bathtub And Remove Stains

A deep scratch will cause your fingernail to hook into the scratch, which also means you need to do a lot more than simple buffing of the surface.

If you find that the scratch is not that deep, you can try to buff the scratch with some toothpaste. Using toothpaste in your acrylic bathtub may seem strange.

But it contains an element called silica which is abrasive and helps to polish the scratch. You need enough to cover the scratched area before buffing with a dry, clean cloth.

Another way to go about this step is using a combination of equal parts water and baking soda. Mix it together until you get a thick paste that you can put on a dry cloth. Apply to the scratched area using gentle circular motions.

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Whichever option you choose, you need to rinse the area with water and check that the scratch is no longer visible. The process may need to be repeated. If the scratch is deep, then you should go to the next step.

A deep scratch requires only light abrasion to remove. For this, you need 800-grit sandpaper that has been soaked in water for several minutes.

Soaking it in water will soften the roughness of your sandpaper, so you won’t add any scratches to your acrylic bathtub when you use it.

After letting it soak for a few minutes, you can gently sand the scratched area in a circular motion. Remember that you only need to sand off the scratch.

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So, don’t apply too much pressure when the sandpaper is against the surface of the bathtub. You should rinse the area and wet the sandpaper from time to time. Do this a couple of times as needed.

If the scratch is still there, you may need to use a finer grit of sandpaper. You can gradually go up to 2,000-grit sandpaper for this, depending on how persistent the scratch is.

Do the same process of wetting the sandpaper and gently sanding the area to smooth out the scratch.

Before moving on to this step, make sure you’ve done everything you can to get the scratches out of your acrylic bathtub.

How To Remove Scratches From Acrylic Bathtub

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