How to paint shower base after crack repair?

Question

After endless searching for a product I am hoping I can get some help here 🤞I need to repair a fine crack in shower base, that part i have covered but I also need to paint the shower base so repair isnt noticeable. I need a paint that is low in VOC due to not a great deal of ventilation and elderly in the house. I have seen a lot of people use rust-oleum tub and tile paint however the smell appears to be extremely bad and its not something that will be appropriate. Replacing the shower base is also unfortunately not an option for now. So this is just a temp fix

firefighter87 · Answer

Thanks Mifchell, I was hoping bunnings sell the inlays that can cover cracks and the base of shower but not to be. Cheers for your advice, I appreciate it :)

MitchellMc · Answer

Hi @firefighter87,

Thanks for confirming. If the base is acrylic or fibreglass, I'm not aware of any coating that's specifically designed for recoating those types of shower trays.

Acrylic (plastic) is quite difficult to paint successfully because it has a very smooth surface and the base flexes slightly under normal use. Even if a coating initially adheres well, that movement often causes it to crack or peel over time.

Fibreglass presents a similar challenge. While there are coatings designed for fibreglass in marine and automotive applications, they're generally not intended for shower bases and typically aren't low-VOC products. They also may not cope well with the constant exposure to hot water, soaps and cleaning products found in a shower.

Since you're only looking for a temporary cosmetic fix, I'd be inclined to leave the repaired area as-is rather than apply a coating that's likely to fail and potentially make the repair more noticeable later. If the crack has been repaired and sealed properly, that will be the most important part until you're in a position to replace the shower base.

In the interim, you might consider adding a shower mat to conceal the repaired section.

Mitchell

firefighter87 · Answer

Thanks Mitchell. Its either acrylic or fibreglass, im not at property to check it out at moment unfortunately. Its really just a temp fix for up to a year.