DIY acrylic bathtub repair

In detail: do-it-yourself bathroom repair with acrylic from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

If, instead of dismantling the old cast-iron font, you decide to try to restore the bowl, then you should look through the reviews on the repair of the bath with acrylic. Often, users prefer this particular option, since it saves finances, and there is no desire or need to throw out the cast-iron bathtub, which retains heat well. A small monitoring of reviews, calling the companies involved in this process and you can call the wizard. By the way, the work will not take much time and it is quite possible to restore the bath with acrylic with your own hands.

So, the first thing to consider in the preparatory process is cost. A huge number of companies and private craftsmen offer to restore the bath cover with acrylic. But the price depends on the following factors:

Skill level of workers. A good professional cannot be cheap.
The amount of work performed by specialists. If this is just a repair of baths with acrylic without sealing seams and a bath-wall junction, then they will not take much for this type of work.

Advice! It is best to fill the seam with acrylic, since the finishing and sealing procedure does not require installing a "plinth" along the edge of the bowl or covering the gap with a sealant.

Coating option: manual, bulk or insert. The first method does not guarantee strength and durability, and the third is a coating renewal with an acrylic liner.

Advice! The last option is simpler and best. It fully meets all the requirements for updating the font, and the restoration process will be much faster than in any other version. But here it is important to choose the right wizard, help can be provided by user reviews about the company and the professional level of services.

Video (click to play).

Looking at user responses, there are several unpleasant features of the work:

Smell of acetone. Renovation of the bathtub with acrylic by the pouring method involves the use of solvents, therefore it is best to remove children and pets from the apartment.
Preparatory work. It is necessary to take out the furniture, free the room from accessories and other trifles before the arrival of the master.
Acrylic coating curing time. As a rule, the final hardening occurs in 4-5 days. It is strictly forbidden to use the bathroom.

Liquid acrylic dries for a long time and has a pungent odor

Each restoration method has its own advantages and disadvantages. But if you want to repair the bathtub with acrylic with your own hands, you should familiarize yourself with the options in a little more detail.

Renewing the bathtub with acrylic with your own hands allows you to return the font to its original appearance and at the same time not lay out a whole fortune. Simple and understandable tips will help to make the bowl snow-white, even if before that it was mercilessly exploited for a dozen years. Using modern materials, it is possible to choose one of three available methods of coating restoration. So, how to renovate a bathtub with acrylic?

Manual repair of a bathroom with acrylic is simple: for this, special wear-resistant enamel is used. The composition is sold in any store in the form of liquid enamel or aerosol.

Important! Coating spray is more convenient to use, but such enamel will last much less than ordinary enamel.

All renovation of an old bathtub with acrylic can be divided into three large stages:

surface preparation for a new coating;
priming and sealing;
final processing.

Advice! When making repairs to the bath with acrylic, you need to look at the cans with the goods (enamel).The manufacturer is obliged to provide detailed information on the composition and instructions for use.

You need to start by cleaning and leveling the inside of the bowl. It is important to be careful and careful here. In addition, all work is carried out according to strictly defined rules.

For sanding the surface and cleaning the old layer, you can use not only an emery disc, but also a common cleaning agent with coarse grains.

Important! Manual cleaning should be started with chips and scratches! This option is especially appropriate if it is assumed not complete, but partial restoration of the bath with acrylic.

After sanding the surface, rinse off the product, fill the bath with hot water and leave for 15-20 minutes.

Important! The more thoroughly the surface is cleaned, the better the enamel will lay, and the restoration of the bathroom with acrylic will take less time. In this case, the service life of the new coating will increase. If the surface of the bath is poorly cleaned, the enamel after a while will begin to peel off and hang in "rags".

Repair of chips must be done after cleaning, but before priming. After the water in the bathroom is poured out and the surface is dried, the chips are rubbed with an epoxy mixture or a composition of nitro enamel and superglue.

Important! It is necessary to rub the cracks to full evenness with a sanded surface, without the slightest dents and bumps. Otherwise, the repair of the old bathroom with acrylic does not make sense, the paint will begin to peel off precisely from the not rubbed edges.

Renovation of the bathroom with acrylic requires surface preparation for the application of a new layer of enamel. This procedure is carried out for better adhesion of the coating to the base and withstanding the rapid destruction of the composition. The surface can be primed with any special primer in a container (aerosol). But it is best to look at the instructions for the purchased enamel, which indicates the composition and type of the recommended soil mixture. After priming, the inside of the bath should dry completely.

Important! It is imperative to prime the entire surface as thoroughly as possible. The appearance of bubbles is a guarantor of future chips and the next restoration of the old bath with acrylic will be required not in 5 years, but much earlier.

A regular natural hair brush, a cloth swab and enamel are all you need to renew your old finish. Advice! It is best to use a cloth swab, as the hairs from the brush can stick to the enamel layer, and the appearance of the coating will be damaged. It is necessary to apply the acrylic coating in several layers, first drying each previous one. Careful reading of the instructions will give answers to all questions: the type of enamel, the need to apply additional layers, etc.

Important! Drying of the enamel coating takes a lot of time, and the temperature in the room should be at least 20-23C.

Read also: DIY accent rail repair

The acrylic surface around the chip is carefully processed with 800 grit sandpaper.

Important! If you plan to do the restoration of an acrylic bathtub with your own hands, when buying a repair kit, pay attention to the composition of acrylic. It must correspond to the material from which the container for washing is made, since different compositions have different properties, including thermal expansion.

If a heavy or sharp object falls into the acrylic bath during operation, a crack will appear on its surface. To stop the further spread of the defect, it is necessary to repair the coating immediately. This will require a repair kit for acrylic bathtubs and a drill. You must act according to the following instructions:

First of all, all stress on the bath is eliminated. Drain the water, free the container from heavy objects, cool.

Experienced craftsmen say that if you accurately select the color of liquid acrylic to match the bath, as well as carefully and thoroughly sand, after repair the crack will be invisible even in bright light. It is better to purchase a repair kit from the same manufacturer that makes this bath model, otherwise the repaired places will look like dirty spots.

Do-it-yourself acrylic bathtub

There are a couple of ways that you can update the look of a product without huge financial investments: special inserts and restoration of the bath cover with liquid acrylic or enamel.

Enamel application is a complex and time-consuming process that requires experience and skill. Therefore, most often, preference is given to acrylic coating. It is acrylic that is recognized as the simplest and most reliable material, the use of which during restoration work does not require knowledge and the presence of special tools.

Contents of step-by-step instructions:

For the restoration of the bathtub coating, two types of acrylic-based material are most often used: liquid acrylic (snow-white paintwork with a high mass of non-volatile components) and stacril (acrylic + epoxy enamel).

The material can be ready-to-use or consisting of 2 components that need to be mixed together. When combined, these components form a composition that, when solidified, differs in strength and resistance to stress and temperature changes. There are several popular brands of acrylic coating "Epoxin", "Plastall", "Stakril".

Liquid acrylic in the form of a coating on a bath retains its appearance and protective properties for more than 14 years, with the condition of correct and gentle use.

Liquid acrylic in the form of a coating on the bath retains its appearance and protective properties for more than 14 years

The finished material does not thicken, spreads in an even layer, no air bubbles form in its thickness

Many experts prefer the two-component material "Stakril" and its analogs mentioned above. Unlike cheaper pouring bath materials that have appeared on the market, it has many advantages.

The bathtub remains snow-white throughout the entire service life.
No sagging during application and the formation of an even protective layer during restoration work.
No bubbles or unevenness.
Good mixing of ingredients.

Add the hardener that comes with the kit to Stakril and stir it thoroughly for 10 minutes

Acrylic and hardener.
A stick for mixing the components of the coating.
Solvent.
Rubber or plastic spatula.
Grinder or drill for bath preparation. The attachments must be equipped with sandpaper discs.
Oxalic acid for removing rust (if the bath is damaged by corrosion).
Automotive filler in case of large chips on the surface.

Before you ennoble the bath, you need to very carefully prepare its surface. If this is not done, the acrylic coating will spread unevenly and all chips and depressions will be visible. If there is rust and it is not removed before the restoration of the bath, after a while it will "lift" the coating and show through on the walls.

Bathtub surface treatment

The first stage of the preparatory work is the removal of the old coating. If the bathtub is very old and its inner walls are significantly damaged, then the old layer of enamel should be completely removed.

To do this, using a grinder or a drill with a nozzle, you need to carefully grind every centimeter of the bath. During this work, a lot of dust can form, it is advisable to protect the respiratory organs during this work.

If the damage on the old coating is minor, then you can simply sand it off with sandpaper.

The second stage of the preparatory work is cleaning the surface of the bath from dust during grinding. It is washed off with warm water, carefully examined for the remaining old enamel, not polished chips, rust spots. If everything is in order, they begin to degrease the surface, if not, continue the preparation.

The second stage of the preparatory work - cleaning the surface of the bath from dust during grinding

Experts recommend repairing deep chips and scratches with automotive filler, this will reduce the work with a sander or drill. After application, the putty is cleaned with fine-grained emery paper.

Degreasing is carried out using a solvent. If there is no such substance, then ordinary soda can be used. Several packs of soda are diluted in warm water to a puree consistency and applied to the inner walls of the bath. Every centimeter of the surface must be treated, otherwise liquid acrylic in untreated places may form an air bubble and chip during operation.

The next step is to heat the bath with hot water. To do this, you need to take a full bath of the hottest liquid from the tap and wait half an hour. Then the water is drained, the surface of the bath is quickly wiped off with an absolutely clean cloth with a lint-free surface.

The bath must be completely dry before pouring.

Then the water drains are dismantled.A container is placed under the lower one, into which the remnants of acrylic will be drained, under the upper one is covered with cellophane, which protects the floor from drops of material. It is also recommended to cover the entire floor around the bathtub to avoid damaging its appearance with white drops of acrylic coating.

Then the water drains are dismantled

Before mixing the components, it is important to keep them indoors for several hours. Mix acrylic and hardener gradually, in small doses. After thorough mixing, the mixture should stand for 15-20 minutes. Only after curing can the material be applied.

The rims of the bathtub, which border the wall, are poured first.

The rims of the bathtub, which border the wall, are poured first. You need to pour it gently, in a small stream. Use a trowel to carefully level the material against the wall. Then proceed to the outer side. It is important to cast so that the acrylic does not drip to the floor. In this case, the flowing material should reach approximately to the middle of the walls of the bath.

Then proceed to the outer side

When working, you need to focus on ensuring that acrylic is applied to the walls in an even layer, 3-5 mm. After the first round of pouring, you should proceed to the second. Acrylic is poured in the same thin stream onto the walls of the bath along the perimeter. You need to pour the material until it covers the entire bath.

In order to level the sagging at the bottom of the container, you can use a spatula to run along the bottom of the bath in zigzag movements, achieving an even distribution of the material. This must be done carefully, without touching the bottom of the container. If, nevertheless, there are influences and irregularities, do not worry: the composition will even out itself during the drying process, and the excess acrylic will drain into a special container under the lower drain.

To smooth out the beads at the bottom of the tank, you can use a spatula to draw along the bottom of the bath in zigzag movements.

After finishing the walls, the bath will dry after 36 hours. More information on these material properties can be found in the instructions.

But experts recommend starting to use the bath in a few days after the restoration - this will extend the life of the coating.

The last stage of work is the connection of plumbing communications to the updated bath.

Experts recommend starting to use the bath a few days after restoration.

Before starting work, it is required to thoroughly mix the acrylic in a bucket. Pay special attention to the bottom and walls. Thus, the material becomes homogeneous, with a uniform consistency.

Do not heat liquid acrylic, as its viscosity decreases. This can lead to the fact that all the material simply flows down and a very thin layer remains on the walls. Use the material at room temperature, after keeping it indoors for 5-6 hours.

If you want to change the color of the bath, you can use tinting paste. This material is added during the mixing of the components. It is important to know that the amount of color should not exceed 4% of the total mass of liquid acrylic. This will help to avoid changes in the strength characteristics of the coating. The color of the bath will be muted when adding color.

Despite the fact that acrylic coating positions itself as strong and durable, it can be damaged if not properly maintained. It is strictly prohibited to use acids, abrasive powders, metal sponges for cleaning the bathroom. These cleaners will quickly leave deep scratches and ruin the finish.To clean a refurbished bathtub, special liquid acrylic products are suitable, which can be found in any household chemical store. They will not only keep the surface intact, but also enhance the mirror shine. Image - DIY acrylic bathtub repair

Let your new bathtub delight you as long as possible!

The top layer of enamel on steel and cast iron baths wears out over time. Unpleasant spots, cracks, chips, yellowness appear on the surface. Of course, such a bathtub can be thrown away and replaced with a new one, but restoration will prolong the life of your plumbing and save your family budget.

DIY bathroom restoration

Restoration can be carried out using various methods, including:

application of two-component enamel. The two components are the hardener and the enamel itself. The mixture is applied to the surface like a regular paint;
filling the bath with acrylic (glass). After sanding and thorough degreasing, the bath is filled with acrylic. After 2 days, the updated plumbing is completely ready for use;
bath-in-bath installation. This method consists of installing an acrylic liner that is completely identical to the old bathtub. The insert is attached with glue or foam and allows you to use the restored bathroom for a long time.

Although these methods have their own characteristics, the preparation procedure is completely identical. It is necessary to remove the layer of old enamel and achieve maximum adhesion of the future coating to cast iron / steel.

The following materials and accessories must be prepared:

cleaning powder;
solvent;
cloth-based abrasive paper (for example, P24);
fast-hardening polyester putty for automobiles;
polyethylene, newspapers and masking tape;
vacuum cleaner (or a wide soft brush);
grinder + grinding wheels;
the cloth is clean and does not leave lint;
hair dryer for construction;
screwdriver.

Step 1. We clean the entire surface of the bath with a brush and an abrasive agent (powder).

Step 2. We take sandpaper and clean the bath until there are risks from the abrasive. There is no need to rinse off the cleaning agent when sanding. Instead of sandpaper, you can use an angle grinder with a special attachment. This will greatly simplify the work and speed up the preparation process.

Step 3. After sanding, wash off all the crumbs and soap film well. Etch the bath using oxalic acid. We neutralize the acid with soda.

Step 4. Fill the bath with hot water up to the sides. We wait for about 10 minutes, open the drain so that the water glass, and then wipe the bath with a cloth dry. You can warm up the vessel with a building hair dryer. So the moisture will sooner evaporate and the bath can be further prepared for restoration.

Step 5. We examine the bathtub for major defects, potholes. We apply car putty, and after it dries up, we grind it with fine sandpaper. We remove the dust with a vacuum cleaner / soft brush, after which we thoroughly degrease the entire surface of the plumbing with a solvent and wipe it with lint-free napkins.

Step 6. Unscrew the shower hose. We wrap the spout and taps in polyethylene so that drops of water do not get into the bath during operation.

Wrap spout and taps in polyethylene

Step 7. Armed with a screwdriver, dismantle the drain grate and siphon under the bathroom. We substitute the dishes under the drain hole, into which drops of acrylic or enamel will flow.

Strapping diagram. 1 - overflow pipe; 2 - drain pipe; 3 - metal wedge of the support; 4 - floor siphon; 5 - sewer bell; 6 - metal grounding strip

Diagram of the siphon device in the bathroom

Step 8. We seal all surfaces that adjoin the vessel to be restored with masking tape. Cover the floor, a nearby washing machine, and cover the sink with plastic or old newspapers.

We begin the restoration process.

You can enamel not only a bath, but also a shower tray made of steel and cast iron, a washbasin, a kitchen sink. The entire surface of the sanitary ware is restored, as well as individual areas, if necessary.

This method of restoration is short-lived, but quite economical. A painted bathtub will serve you for a couple of years, after which you will again have to think about painting or replacing it.

Note! The enamel has a pungent chemical odor, so all work can be performed only in personal protective equipment for the respiratory system.

Step 1. Open the enamel and hardener. Pour them into a convenient container, mix with a mixer until smooth (see the exact proportions on the package).

Step 2. With a brush, begin to apply the enamel, making first horizontal and then vertical strokes. We carefully paint over the entire bath.

Advice! To prevent bristles from coming out of the brush, soak it in water for one day!

Step 3. Without waiting for the first layer to dry, apply the second. Gently stretch the smudges with a brush.

Step 4. Paint over the bottom of the vessel again.

The bath will be ready for use in about 5 days. Until this moment, it is advisable not to turn on water and prevent dirt from getting on the painted surfaces.

Such a two-component mixture is quite convenient to apply, does not have a pungent odor and has increased strength characteristics. The starch spreads by itself, and a monolithic even film forms on the surface of the bath. At the same time, the starkril does not dry too quickly, which means that work can be done without haste and fuss.

Step 1. Knead the glass in a convenient container with a mixer.

Step 2. Add the glass from the common dish to a small glass and pour it onto the top edge of the tub. As soon as the trickle reaches the middle of the wall, we begin to move the glass around the perimeter, periodically pouring the mixture into the glass.

Step 3. We repeat the process starting from the middle of the walls. It is not worth saving the mixture, the excess will merge into the container under the hole, and the coating will turn out to be even and smooth.

If bubbles form on the surface, they can be smoothed out with a plastic spatula or brush.

The polymerization process takes up to 4 days. The exact instructions for proportions and drying times are indicated on the glass packaging.

Replacing the bathtub can be safely called the most problematic stage of the "secondary repair". As a rule, it is associated not only with dismantling and plumbing work, but also with a partial violation of the tiles laid both on the walls and on the floor. Fortunately, modern building technologies make it possible to significantly simplify this process, namely, to make a do-it-yourself bathroom restoration. One of the most popular methods is using liquid acrylic. We will talk about it in this article.

Before proceeding directly to the consideration of the corresponding technology, let's figure out whether it makes sense to restore the bathtub, and is it not easier to replace it with a new one.

Bathtub restoration in general and bulk acrylic, in particular, has a number of undeniable advantages. First, there is no need to disrupt existing renovations, be it tiles or wallpaper. This not only greatly simplifies the process, but also makes it possible to significantly save on the restoration of the bathroom finish. Secondly, restoration of even the most "killed" bathtub will cost significantly less than replacing it, even if it is the cheapest analogue. And finally, the restoration will take much less time than replacement, since the procedure does not require water shut-off and other "plumbing complications".

One of the most common bath restoration methods is liquid acrylic restoration.

The material is a two-component liquid that, when mixed, solidifies, forming a hard surface that perfectly hides any defects in the old bathtub.

Liquid acrylic is supplied in two separate containers with base material and hardener

Compared to other restorative materials, liquid acrylic has several advantages:

It allows you to hide both small and large defects.
Resistant to damage and dirt.With proper care, an acrylic bathtub can retain its attractive appearance for 10-15 years.

Increases heat and sound insulation of the bath. Water in a bath covered with liquid acrylic cools down much longer than in a steel or cast iron analogue.

The acrylic bathtub can be restored without any problems. If, after applying liquid acrylic, a scratch appears on the bathtub, it can be removed without problems, and this does not require updating the entire coating. It will be enough to use a relatively inexpensive "repair kit" Inexpensive repair kit allows you to eliminate scratches and chips practically without a trace

Although it is worth clarifying that with all the listed advantages, liquid acrylic also has a number of disadvantages. It dries for a long time (from 24 to 48 hours), has a specific odor during application and is very susceptible to contamination at the drying stage, so during work it is necessary to protect the bath as carefully as possible from dust and dirt entering it.

However, all these shortcomings are more than compensated by the advantages of this material, so we can safely say: the restoration of baths with liquid acrylic in terms of "price-quality" ranks first among similar methods.

Let's consider the whole process of bath restoration with liquid acrylic. Let's take a look at the "source material" first. It is this seemingly irretrievably damaged bath that we will try to restore.

The technology of restoration with liquid acrylic is not very complicated, however, for everything to be successful, the bath must be properly prepared.

First of all, the surface is treated with some kind of abrasive agent. For this purpose, a grinder with a grinding attachment is best suited.

Surface cleaning is best done with a grinder

This, firstly, will remove the remaining dirt from the surface of the bath, and secondly, it will make its surface rougher, which will greatly facilitate the "setting" of acrylic.

After the bath is processed, residues of dust and dirt are removed from its surface, it is thoroughly washed and degreased with any available means (for this purpose, for example, ordinary acetone is quite suitable).

This completes the preparation process for applying acrylic.

Replacing the old drain and overflow will give the restored bathtub a completely fresh look.

Ideally, before applying liquid acrylic to the bathtub, it is worth removing the old drain and overflow, and after restoration, replace them with new ones. But since this does not affect the restoration process itself, in order to save money, this stage can be skipped.

The first step is to mix acrylic with a hardener and let it settle for 15-20 minutes to start the necessary chemical reactions. In order to avoid acrylic with hardener must be mixed very thoroughly.

Please note that this must be done immediately before starting work, because otherwise the acrylic will thicken and become unsuitable for pouring.

A little diluted acrylic is poured directly onto the bottom of the bath and, with the help of a special plastic spatula, they begin to "put" it on the sides, allowing the rest of the material to flow freely into the bath.

It is best to use a plastic spatula for applying acrylic.

When the sides are completely covered with a layer of acrylic, the material continues to be applied to the middle of the walls of the bath.

Acrylic is applied from top to bottom until all sides of the bath are covered with it

If in the process of dripping small smudges are formed, they can be leveled with the same plastic spatula.

When the entire bath, including the bottom, is covered with a layer of acrylic, it remains to slightly smooth out the smudges and the filling work can be considered complete.

After a couple of hours, the old bath is practically unrecognizable!

Now you need to wait until the acrylic is completely dry - as a rule, it takes from 24 to 48 hours, depending on the grade of the material, install a new drain and overflow (if, of course, you removed the old ones), and this can be considered complete restoration work.

Although the filling procedure is quite simple, errors still occur during its execution, which can negatively affect the final result.

Poor bath preparation. If the surface of the bath was poorly cleaned, there are areas of rust, dirt or grease on it, then in the future this can lead to peeling of acrylic in these places. The same applies to a poorly dried bath.
Incorrect mixing of components. With poor-quality mixing of the components of liquid acrylic, as well as when using the mixture after the recommended period, streaks and bulges may form on the surface of the bath, which will be very problematic to remove.
The work is being carried out in an unsuitable temperature regime. It is recommended to fill at a temperature of 16 to 25 ° C. A significant deviation from these indicators can adversely affect the final result.

Well, as, in fact, when carrying out any work, during the restoration of the bath, you should not rush, but do everything, as they say, "with feeling, with sense, with arrangement." And then the process of restoring the bath with liquid acrylic will take place without problems.

As we said, acrylic can retain its original attractive appearance for more than ten years. However, to do this, you need to properly care for him. Do not wash the acrylic surface with abrasive detergents. This also applies to the rags and washcloths you use to clean the bathtub. For washing acrylic, the usual liquid detergent that you use for dishes is perfect, although special "cleaners" can also purchase special preparations for the care of liquid acrylic.

There are special care products for acrylic, but if they are absent, you can do with ordinary dishwashing detergents.

And yet, if you are going to bathe large pets in an acrylic bathtub, then you should purchase a special rubber mat that will protect the acrylic surface from their claws.

Video (click to play).

As you can see, restoring a bath with liquid acrylic is a fairly simple procedure and does not require serious costs. We are sure that thanks to our advice, you will easily cope with it. Successful renovation!

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