How to fix bath painted poorly?

[melgray]

 

The previous owners painted the bath and did a terrible drop. It looks like it wasn’t properly cleaned beforehand and is really uneven with thick layers peeling off. I’m not sure what paint they used but it’s also impossible to scrub clean. It doesn’t have that smooth feel and holds stains easily. I’d like to try removing the paint, but not sure what product is best. It’s one of those classic apricot coloured corner spa units in some kind of acrylic I think. The jets don’t work but unsure if that’s because they were painted, so no harm if the paint strip process would impact their function. 

thanks!

[JacobZ]

Hi @melgray,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.

Unfortunately, any kind of chemical stripping product would have the potential to damage the bathtub itself, so if you wanted to remove the paint, you would have to sand it off.

If you'd like to give it a go, make sure you wear a respirator while doing so to protect yourself from any airborne dust.

I'd suggest using a random orbital sander with some 120-grit sandpaper to remove the bulk of the paint, then moving up to something like 240-grit sandpaper to smooth and finish.

You could then use a tub refinishing kit such as this Rust-Oleum White Gloss Tub And Tile Refinishing Kit to resurface it and tidy things up.

Check out How To Paint a Bath Tub for some guidance on this process.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob