Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - finish on tub surround is dull HELP!

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Home wrecker
10-12-09, 02:28 PM
I'm not sure if this can be fixed. The finish on the tub and surround are dull and lifeless.
I know you are going to ask me what kind of material it is. I don't know. My best guess would be that it had a gel coat on it. It had to be expensive I'm sure because it is a two piece unit. The surround is connected to the tub about 6" above the tub and is all one piece. The tub is the second piece.

Is there any product out there that I could use to put the shine back on it???


Just Bill
10-12-09, 04:50 PM
What you describe is likley gel coat fiberglass. It sounds like the surround has been scrubbed with a gritty scouring compound. If that is the case, the fix may be expensive. Is the tub the same condition??? It could also just be soap scum/hard water deposits, and needs a careful cleaning with a cleaner approved for gel coat surfaces. Check any hardware, nome store. And there are gel coat rejuvenators that work to one degree or another, check same places, and places specializing in bathrooms.

MTTwister
10-12-09, 08:20 PM
I just had my full one piece fiberglass tub, with the "canopy" refinished. A-1 porcelin and fiberglass refinisher's down here in Phoenix. $450, but it looks like new. It's an oversize tub. See if there's a company that does that in your area. They removed all the fittings ( except the tub spout (( 30 years old could have been a problem) ), top sanded and sprayed a white epoxy coat. Has a slight lemon peel finish, but I can live with that. my neighbor had his done 10 years ago, and it still looks "new-ish".


Home wrecker
10-13-09, 08:02 AM
What you describe is likely gel coat fiberglass. It sounds like the surround has been scrubbed with a gritty scouring compound. If that is the case, the fix may be expensive. Is the tub the same condition??? It could also just be soap scum/hard water deposits, and needs a careful cleaning with a cleaner approved for gel coat surfaces. Check any hardware, nome store. And there are gel coat rejuvenators that work to one degree or another, check same places, and places specializing in bathrooms.

I suspect the products we have used over the years FOR hard water deposits, as well as soap scum, are the culprit. I don't believe it's ever been cleaned with any kind of scouring compounds such as comet cleanser.
We have a pretty good hardware store here, so I'll give them a try. Would one of the "big box" home centers carry something like that? I would suspect any place around here specializing in bathrooms would want to sell you something new. I might be able to find something on-line too.
THANKS