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DIY REGLAZING KITS

WHAT ARE DIY REGLAZING KITS

DIY kits utilize epoxy coatings and can be purchased from local hardware stores or over the internet.  They come in a “spray on” or a "brush on" form and cost between $45.00 and $150.00.

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Within 6 months, your DIY project will look like this.  Don’t be fooled by the claims that these products work.

PROS AND CONS OF DIY KITS

Pros

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  •  DIY Kits are the least expensive way to reglaze a bathtub.

 

Cons

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  • Whatever you read, whatever you hear, They Do Not Work!

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  • Most kits typically contain epoxy coatings, which are old technology. Epoxy is very durable, but does not have the same gloss or uniform appearance as do acrylic coatings. Epoxy dries very slowly. Multiple coats will be required meaning that several days will be necessary to complete a DIY project. Over time, epoxy will yellow or become chalky in appearance, usually after only a few months.

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  • A finish applied with a brush or roller will be uneven and look "painted". A glossy, smooth finish can only be achieved though the use of a fine finish high volume, low pressure (HVLP) spray equipment. 

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  • Material applied from a kit will give your tub a “painted” feel.  

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  • Kits provide only the chemicals. You must provide the equipment, tools, and personal safety equipment including chemical resistant gloves, respirators, exhaust fans, eye protection and Tyvek paint suits.

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  • Some kits contain cans of spray paint which simply camouflage the problem and will rarely last any length of time without the use of a bonding agent.  Proper bonding of these products, to a porcelain sink or bathtub, requires a professional strength bonding agent, plus a delaminating solution. They are usually only available to professional refinishers.  Some may include what they call bonding agents, but these bonders and delaminating paste are hazardous chemicals. This is why companies do not include them in the DIY kit you purchased from the hardware store or off the Internet. If they do offer a bonding agent they are usually just acetone or alcohol.

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  • In order to eliminate many of the brush or roller marks the coating must be self leveling.  What this means is that the material must dry at a very slow rate in order for the brush marks to flow together.  This creates a problem with contaminates getting into the finish.  Dust in the air, from the A/C, the heating ducts or from wherever will work their way into the finish over the four days of drying.  It does not matter how clean or how careful you are you will get dust in your finish.  This defeats the whole purpose of reglazing your bathtub to make it easy to clean.  These contaminates, when dried into your surface, will trap dirt, rust and lime.

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  •     In a short amount of time after you have been using your tub the finish will ultimately fail.  I have never known of anyone having luck for more than 6 months with a DIY product.  Once the finish fails, all the material that you applied must be removed.  So, not only will you have to pay again to have your tub reglazed by a professional, you must also pay to have the tub stripped.  You can be assured that this will almost double the cost of what you would have paid to have is done correctly the first time.

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