How To Repair A Chip In An Enamel Tub

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Fixing a chipped bathtub is a do-information technology-yourself project that will save y'all from hiring an expensive professional. Whether your tub just has a few modest chips, or it is badly damaged and needs to be refinished, these are both projects that you volition find kits for at your local home improvement shop. With a little elbow greasy, your tub will expect like new in just a affair of days!

1. 1

   Purchase a ii-component epoxy kit for chip repair. Await in the adhesive or bathroom repair department of a home hardware store. Purchase a kit that comes with both the catalyst and hardener that you lot will mix together to create the epoxy.^[1]

   • Near epoxy chip repair kits come up in shades of white to match the most common colour of bathtubs. Try to cull a kit that will closely match the shade of your bathtub, or 2 kits that you tin mix together to create the right color.
   • Epoxy repair kits work to gear up chips in all kinds of bathtubs including ceramic, porcelain, acrylic, fiberglass, and enamel tubs.

2. 2

   Scrub the damaged area with a sponge and soap or tub cleaner, then dry out it. Utilize warm h2o and dish detergent or a household tile and tub cleaner to make clean the chipped area. Thoroughly dry out the area with a make clean rage after you finish cleaning it.^[two]

   • You can likewise use acetone or rubbing booze to make clean the expanse. Whatsoever production that removes grease and soap scum will work to clean the bit.

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3. 3

   Follow the directions on your epoxy kit to mix the 2 components together. Some epoxy kits come with a mixing tray and stirring stick for you lot to use. Mix the epoxy in a disposable tray with a toothpick or matchstick if your kit didn't come with the mixing supplies.^[three]

   • It's a proficient idea to set the tray on a piece of cardboard or some scraps of newspaper to catch any spills.

4. 4

   Apply the epoxy to the chip with a small-scale spatula, paint brush, or bottom of a matchstick. Scoop up a small amount of the epoxy with your chosen utensil. Spread information technology carefully in a thin layer over the chip by working in ane direction and smooth out whatsoever spots where it pools.^[four]

   • Make sure that annihilation you use to apply the epoxy is disposable. Information technology volition exist difficult to go the epoxy off of anything it touches.
   • It's easiest to start with a pocket-sized amount of epoxy and add more than layers than it is to put too much on and remove information technology.

5. 5

   Let the epoxy dry, so sand down the surface with 400-600 grit sandpaper. Follow the directions on your epoxy kit to let it fully dry out. Gently sand the surface with 400- or 600-dust sandpaper until it feels smooth like the rest of the tub.^[v]

   • Some epoxy will set in 2-3 hours, at which point yous can sand. Other kits may advise you to wait up to 24 hours before sanding.
   • You lot can add another layer of epoxy later sanding if you can however feel the scrap. And so repeat the process.
   • Keep in mind that while this is will aid hide small chips, you may nevertheless be able to find the patch. This will exist especially obvious if you try to fill a number of fries with the epoxy.^[6]

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1. 1

   Buy a bathtub refinishing kit at a home improvement center. Salvage yourself fourth dimension by buying a whole kit that has everything you need to refinish your tub. Most kits come with tub cleaner, sandpaper, primer, refinishing paint, a paint tray, a castor, and a roller.^[vii]

   • Check that the kit comes with a durable resin coating for your tub. Some cheaper kits come up with an epoxy coating, which chips and discolors faster.
   • Refinishing kits can cost from near $30-$100 USD.
   • Tub refinishing kits piece of work to refinish all kinds of bathtubs including ceramic, porcelain, acrylic, fiberglass, and enamel tubs. The kits will provide a new porcelain-like end to these kinds of tubs.

2. 2

   Ventilate the bathroom, cover the floors, and put on protective gear. Open up upward all the windows and put a fan in the bathroom to ventilate it. Cover the floors with heavy-duty plastic sheets to keep them rubber during the refinishing process. Put on a face up mask and goggles.^[eight]

   • Y'all tin also drapery plastic sheets over fixtures like the toilet and sink to protect them.

3. three

   Clean the bathtub with the cleaner from the kit. Read the directions on the cleaner to utilise it to the tub and use a sponge to scrub the tub clean. Rinse the tub out, and then become over information technology with the sponge and cleaner two more times to remove any soap scum and stains before you refinish it.^[9]

   • If your kit did not come with cleaner, then purchase an industrial strength bathtub cleaner to use.
   • Allow the tub completely air dry, or speed upward the procedure with towels and a hair dryer.

4. 4

   Sand the whole tub with the sandpaper in your kit to remove the old finish. Start with the everyman-grit sandpaper from your refinishing kit and sand the whole surface of the tub in round motions past manus, or with an electric sander. Work your fashion up to the highest-grit sandpaper in your kit until the tub is completely smooth.^[10]

   • Your refinishing kit should come up with sandpaper to apply. If your kit didn't come with sandpaper, then start with 400-dust sandpaper and piece of work your way upwardly to 2000-grit. Increase the grit of the sandpaper in increments of 200 until you lot reach thousand-grit sandpaper, and then go upwards in increments of 500 until you end using 2000-dust sandpaper.

5. five

   Repair any fries or cracks in the tub with a ii-component epoxy flake repair kit. Follow the instructions to mix the 2 parts of the epoxy in a pocket-size tray. Use a pocket-size brush, spatula, or the bottom end of a matchstick to apply thin layers of epoxy to whatever chips. Expect ii-three hours until the epoxy dries and sand the patches downwards with 2000-grit sandpaper to match the finish of the rest of the tub.^[11]

   • This volition ensure that the tub has no chips or cracks and seal the surface earlier you apply the new terminate.
   • Get a 2-component epoxy scrap repair kit from the bath remodeling or adhesive section of a habitation improvement store if your kit did not come up with information technology.

6. 6

   Put painter's tape on the walls and around any plumbing fixtures. Tape along the edges of the tub where they touch the walls and effectually the faucet and other fixtures. Even if you accept a steady hand, it'due south piece of cake for paint to get astray!^[12]

   • Painter's record is the bluish masking tape that you can find at hardware and paint stores.

7. 7

   Apply 1 coat of primer with a brush and roller. Apply a roller to roll on the primer onto the big, flat sections of the tub similar the flooring and sides, then employ a castor to get into the corners and curved parts. Let it dry out for at least ii-iii hours before you start to pigment on the new finish.^[13]

   • Priming the surface is an important part of ensuring that the new end adheres correctly and then that you end up with the correct texture. Make sure that the primer is completely dry out to the touch before yous paint over it.

8. 8

   Paint on 2-3 coats of the new end with a castor and roller. E'er paint in ane management when y'all use the new glaze to your tub. Gyre on the new finish to the floors and sides in fifty-fifty back-and-forth rolls until the flat surface area is completely covered. Make full in the corners and curves of the tub with fifty-fifty dorsum-and-forth castor strokes. Let each coat dry out for at least 30 minutes before y'all put the adjacent glaze on.^[14]

   • Some kits may come with a spray-on finish. If you utilize a sprayer instead of a brush or roller, endeavor to spray evenly and in 1 direction. Make sure your walls and fixtures are well-protected past tape where there is a risk of paint spray hitting them.

9. 9

   Permit your bathtub sit for two-3 days earlier you use it. The new finish needs to set completely before yous run water over it. Consult your kit'south directions for the exact drying time for your specific finish.^[15]

   • If y'all don't permit the finish dry out long enough, y'all could stop up with streaks and bubbles in the new coating and you will need to start the procedure again.
   • Your new DIY finish will last for years, just go along in mind that professional person finishes will last even longer.
   • The chemicals used in this process tin can be dangerous, so information technology may be a expert idea to stay somewhere else for a few days while the tub cures.^[16]

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Add New Question

• Question

  How do you fix a chip in a porcelain tub?

  

  Art Fricke
  Home Renovation & Repair Specialist

  Art Fricke is a dwelling house renovation and repair specialist and the owner of Art Tile & Renovation based in Austin, Texas. With over 10 years of feel, he specializes in bathroom and kitchen renovations. Fine art focuses on a single contractor approach to customized renovation work, and performs projects such equally installing custom tile showers, fixing tiled shower leaks, replacing cracked tiles, and installing floor and wall tile.

  

  Habitation Renovation & Repair Specialist

  Expert Reply

  

  Back up wikiHow past unlocking this skilful answer.

  If you just have a minor, isolated flake, yous can become enamel fix from a abode improvement store. Just dab a little on, then let it dry out. Even so, keep in mind that you'll probably yet be able to see the patch, especially if you lot're trying to cover a number of chips.

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Things You'll Need

• ii-component epoxy flake repair kit
• Sponge
• Soap or household tub and tile cleaner
• Disposable tray and mixing stick
• Pocket-size spatula, brush, or matchstick
• 400-600 grit sandpaper

• Bathtub refinishing kit (tub cleaner, sandpaper, primer, refinishing pigment, a pigment tray, a brush, and a roller)
• 2-component epoxy chip repair kit
• Small spatula, brush, or matchstick
• Face mask
• Goggles
• Fan
• Heavy-duty plastic sheets
• Painter's tape

• If yous don't want to refinish your bathtub on your ain, you can hire a professional who's specialized in refinishing tubs, instead.^[17]

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Article Summary X

If you take a small chip in your bathtub, you can fix it with an epoxy kit. Before y'all offset, scrub the damaged surface area of your tub clean with a sponge and some soap and water. Follow the directions on your epoxy kit for mixing the 2 components together. One time they're mixed, apply a small spatula or a paintbrush to spread a thin layer of the epoxy over the chip. Wait for information technology to fully dry out, which should take at least 2-3 hours, and then utilize sandpaper to buff out the dried epoxy until its shine. If your bathtub is badly damaged, you tin use a bathtub refinishing kit to restore the finish. You'll demand to sand the whole tub to remove the former finish, repair all the cracks with epoxy, then paint on new primer and terminate. To learn how to preclude pigment from getting on you lot tile, read on!

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