bath tub refinishing, with pictures

So this is the kit we bought to refinish the bath tub. There were two at Home Depot, this one and one called ReNew. This one was $20 more than the other one, but was much less complicated and included some of the supplies needed, like the gloves and the TSP cleaner. The other one had two spray paint cans that you had to heat one up and cool one down and then transfer the paint from one can to another. Um, I did not want a chemistry experiment.

Here is the stained bath tub BEFORE. This is the bath tub original to our nice 60s house. The enamel is worn off and it was UGLY, and very hard to clean. The soap scum would get deep into the bottom and was not fun to scrub out. And it never, ever returned to white.

We taped off the tub and started spraying. Again, this was a chemical that required lots of ventilation and a mask and gloves. It tells you to apply two coats, the first one being very thin.

Here is the AFTER! Isn't it lovely? Now, it has to cure for three days before you can use it again. It also advises that you shouldn't use bleach on it or use suction cups.

In the bottom left corner of this picture you can see the paint color I chose for the bathroom. It is from Home Depot and is the Behr color Gobi Desert. I went ahead and painted this corner of the room because with the toilet out it was so much easier. It was a very neutral color and I wanted something that wouldn't be hard on the eyes in the morning. When I had a purple/lavender bathroom in our old house, I noticed it made my makeup look really pink when I was applying it. If your bathroom does not have windows and it is the place you apply makeup, think carefully about the color you choose. I also say this about closets. Closets should be white, otherwise the paint will reflect off your clothes and make the colors look different. Okay, enough about paint.

Isn't this bathtub gorgeous? As we speak, Charlie is installing our new toilet and so hopefully that will be functional by the time we go to bed tonight! Cross those fingers.