How to Paint a Bathtub

 

BEFORE
&
AFTER 

 

 

 

After purchasing my house five years ago, I have finally found the time to remodel my main bathroom. I live in a townhouse, big enough for the three of us; well ok we may have room for one more :) Get the hint; boyfriend? Any way when I bought this house, I knew eventually I would have to renovate the awful, crusty bathroom. The walls were green, the floor had old stick on floor tiles (not that there's anything wrong with using stick on tiles), the bathtub was a dingy yellow (builders grade) and the vanity was falling apart. I was dreading even going into the bathroom. So I started looking for some solutions to a few of my problems.

 

PROBLEM #1: I'm broke. I do no have the funds to spend thousands of dollars in redoing the bathroom with a contractor. I will have to do this project by my self with a budget of approximately $1,500; not much.

 

SOLUTION: Surf Craigslist, eBay, local thrift shops, dumpster diving, head first; (no sham in my game).

PROBLEM #2: I wanted to replace the old bathtub but my handy man estimated $1,700 just to remove and replace the tub, and that's a quote without actually buying the tub. His business card was introduced to the recycling bin fast. Someone stated to me if I had a low cut shirt, the price would have been dropped significantly. Not funny :) Well maybe a little.

 

SOLUTION: Good'ole Uncle Sam to the rescue. ($cha-ching$)

PROBLEM #3: How long will my bathroom be out of commission? How will we bathe?

SOLUTION: Well we do live next to a pond, skinny dipping after dark? Or, if we were desperate enough, we could always jump in the pool out back? Nope, my great girlfriend lives next door, she offered her home and bathroom to my kids and myself. I'm a lucky girl to have such special people in my life.

PROBLEM #4: I'm pretty handy but who will help me if something goes wrong; hence, plumbing?

SOLUTION: Well after talking to the BF he states he is very familiar with cleaning and laying pipes. Haha I said I don't need them cleaned, I need them fixed, he said all the same thing. I said that's debatable.  Well; all kidding aside, he was an apprentice for the ship yard in Philadelphia so that's why he's skilled with plumbing.

PROBLEM #5: I'm a one WOMAN job! Caramba! (Latina coming out)

SOLUION: Lots of Union breaks. Suck it up Mama! You can do this!

 

 

SO....my journey began

Out with the OLD...and in with the NEW!

 



WOOHOO!!!

Well its brand new to me. I decided not to replace the bath tub, but instead to paint it. I did a lot of online blog reading and I found a site that totally helped me make my decision. The site was Addicted 2 Decorating. This site is a great site. Kristi is very talented and has a ton of DIY's, tutorials, inspirations; basically she is super amazing. She even has a video of her bath tub painted. So check out her site. So with that in mind I figured if she could make her tub look brand new, why wouldn't it work for me? I followed her instructions to the letter.



I began the bath tub in early March. There's a series of steps you must do BEFORE you begin to paint. I purchased two boxes of tub and tile paint (see description below).  I applied two coats of paint, in which I allow the tub to dry very well in between. It takes approximately three days for the tub to cure.  Don't take any shortcuts.  You don't want to compromise your hard work you put fourth. I would strongly suggest you buy a respirator mask. I purchased mine at homedepot and it worked great. If you have a window in your bathroom, I would suggest you open it an place a fan in the window and have the air blow out.  I couldn't smell anything except when I took my respirator off in between coats.

 

Model # 65021HA1-C      Internet # 202080143    Store SKU # 275703
Household Multi-Purpose Respirator $29.97

MY MAIN SUPPLIES:
I'm a Amazon fanatic...AND Homedepot does not sell this item.

 Rust-Olem Tub and Tile: Bought in Amazon click here   

Shur-Line 03700C 4-Inch Foam Mini Roller with 12-Inch Handle click here 

                      

       

 

Here's a detailed video from Rust-Oleum showing you

the exact process yourself and the items items you will need. 

 

Now all DIY'ers know that once you start a project, another magically appears. At first I just wanted to paint the tub but when the tub out shined everything else in the bathroom, I immediately knew this was not a small DIY project, this was a total bathroom overhaul project.....STAY TUNED!!!

 

 

Thank you for visiting my blog. Please leave your comments. Come back for more updates on my bathroom!

 

Smooches!