There are many different shapes and sizes of bathtubs available in the market today. You can choose from circular, oval, square, rectangular or semi-circle depending upon the size and shape of your bathroom. However, a chipped or cracked bathtub looks very ugly and you must know how to fix a bathtub so that you can do it yourself without having to wait for a plumber and can also save money by doing so.
You can easily fix a bathtub yourself using a kit which you can purchase from any hardware shop or home improvement store. This kit costs very less as compared to the costs you would have to incur if you hire a contractor or plumber. It contains epoxy resin, sandpaper, gel coat enamel and applicator. Along with the kit, you will also need some other things such as a rag, paintbrush, hair dryer, and a tungsten-carbide cutter. Follow these steps to fix a bathtub on your own:
- The first and most important thing to do before you actually start fixing your bathtub is to ensure that it is completely dry. You can either wipe it dry with a cloth or use a hair dryer to dry the area that you will be working on. You must keep the area dry because the resin cannot be applied on a wet surface as it will not stick on it.
- Next, you must make sure that the area is clean and smooth. You can again use a cloth or duster to clean the surface.
- Use the tungsten-carbide cutter to widen the crack and remove rough spots if any. You must hold the cutter at an appropriate angle so that it creates a v-shaped channel.
- If you are fixing a chipped area, you need to grind the edges to smoothen them. Use a fine-grit sandpaper to smooth out any rough edges.
- Now, apply the epoxy resin filler in the crack by following the directions on the bottle carefully. Use the applicator provided in the kit to fill all the cracks with the resin and remove any excess epoxy using the applicator.
- Leave the area to dry for at least 12 hours to ensure that the epoxy has had enough time to cure. Once it has cured, use the wet/dry sandpaper from the kit to sand the surface to make the fix appear smooth.
- Now, you are ready to apply the gel coat enamel. Follow the instructions on the kit carefully for this and apply the enamel on the crack smoothly.
- Some repair kits will have colored enamels to match the color of your bathtub. If the enamel color matches the color of your bathtub perfectly, then your repair will be invisible.
Tips & Warnings
- Ensure that your bathtub is properly supported from below to prevent any more cracks in the future.
- Avoid putting heavy and bulky objects near your bathtub. This is because dropping if such objects is one of the main reasons of crack formation on bathtubs.
- You can use either porcelain repair kits or fiberglass repair kits as they are similar to each other and the process of using them is also the same.
- If you are not able to match the color of the repair with your bathtub’s color you could repaint it. The paint used for painting bathtubs is long-lasting and strong and make your repaired bathtub look as new as when it was purchased.
- You must repair the bathtub as soon you detect any cracks on it as otherwise it could damage floors and walls.
- Fixing chips and cracks in a bathtub on time will not only prevent structural damage but also stop the crack from spreading further.
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