Bathtub re-glazingor refinishing questions

Ron Jones

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Location
Indianapolis area
We have a 39 year old cast iron tub in pretty good shape. It has no chips, one small rust stain and a dull finish. We do NOT want to replace it for several reasons. We would, however, like to get it looking better. The Lowe's bathroom guru said that we could get it refinished for about the price of a new one. He could/would not recommend someone to do this.

Does anyone here have experience with refinishing/re-glazing CI tubs? Any recommendations on this topic? I'm skeptical of a DIY system. Am I correct in this?
 
Ron, when I was looking into that, I checked to phone book, if I remember right. Found a guy local. Ended up breaking it out and replacing it, but there are many folks out there that can help you out.
 
We went that route many years ago and ended up replacing the tub in the end. The refinishers all seem to have a problem in the drain area and many will not guarantee the tub peeling in that area. Guess where most of them start to peel. If the glaze is dull you may want to try and buff it back using rubbing compound like they use in the auto industry. Start with a coarse compound and work your way up to the finest available. Try this in a small area and see if you can improve the finish and if it works do the rest of the tub. A small electric/battery automotive polisher is required unless you intend to build up the muscles in one arm.
 
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