Product for tub refinishing?

[LY007]

I'd like to refresh the shower tub in my 83. Don't know if it's plastic or Fiberglas. Any recommendations?

[Jewel65]

POR-15 Urethane. Hard as a rock. VTS has it and the bathroom photo and review is mine.

https://www.vintagetrailersupply.com...-p/vts-805.htm

[sgschwend]

Automotive paint.

[cwf]

Have you seen the stuff they spray on tubs and countertops to refinish/ texture/ change color??? Great stuff! If properly applied.

Don't know your skill level, etc... but might be worth a call.

[Tom_T]

There was an old school product used to resurface FG tubs/showers in vintage TTs/RVs called "Bullfrog" or something like that (or maybe nothing like that ) discussed on some of the vintage trailer restoration forums before, & some folks at the CA vintage rallies have talked about it (looked perfect like new in their trailers), but I don't recall the name.

It came in colors or clear, & was a type of gel coat, but easy for most folks to use & apply.

I'd like to find that product's name too, if anyone knows?

Cheers!
Tom
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[Lumatic]

On my 70s Airstreams I used a 2 part epoxy paint I got from Home Depot. Apply with a brush, but no brushstrokes. It still looks great after more than 5 years. Stinky stuff. Use a respirator.

[Tampatomgirl]

I'm going to try this on mine. Thanks!!!

[J Ingersoll]

I used a two part epoxy primer and a two part urethane topcoat. These come in quart sizes from Jamestown Supply. They are a marine supply company and have lots of videos online on how to use their products.

[ALANSD]

Home Depot or Lowes has what you need. Krylon makes a paint that will work but the stuff especially for tubs does a great job. I used the Krylon and it made my sink look 10 x better for next to no money
Rustoleum Tub and Tile refinisher:

Get it on AMAZON too

[JCWDCW]

Ditto on the urethane. Used something similar on my Boat. Nothing would scratch it. Whether for airplanes, boats above the water line, or transport trucks the urethane formula is a well established coating. I've heard the simplest way to apply is to roll on and then tip out with a dry brush. Urethane can handle being wet. It is not used for submersion. A shower/bath is wet...not submerged....similar environment to boats and planes.
JCW

[Tom_T]

Originally Posted by JCWDCW

Ditto on the urethane. Used something similar on my Boat. Nothing would scratch it. Whether for airplanes, boats above the water line, or transport trucks the urethane formula is a well established coating. I've heard the simplest way to apply is to roll on and then tip out with a dry brush. Urethane can handle being wet. It is not used for submersion. A shower/bath is wet...not submerged....similar environment to boats and planes.
JCW

Hi All,

I'm going to offer a counter opinion to the above, for the consideration of all, based on my personal & professional experience.

If one is using the shower/tub for baths - e.g.: with your kids/grandkids (usually too small for adults) - then it certainly will be submerged, as well as if the shower drain ever backs up - & it may not be effective.

Moreover, the typical DIYer is not as good at surface preparation as is a good pro (emphasis on "Good"), so any surface residue could allow & promote separation, bubbling & peeling of the urethane coating (whether 1 or 2-part - with most DIY stuff being 1-part).

In such cases the 2-part resin + hardener coating specifically made for fiberglass would be preferred, & surface prep is still important, but the FG resin material will be far more durable, & much more forgiving to the less than perfect surface prep.

I say this coming from some level of experience, since my chemist Dad was one of the original patentees of urethane varnishes, paints & coating for Koppers back in the 1960's, & having helped Dad as a kid with "painting" the test batches of urethane varnish in our Pittsburgh basement T&G paneling in the early 1960's, as well as myself being an Architect for 40+ years involved in specifying coatings, etc.

The urethane varnish in our former home's basement was not a protection for the later owner on the wood paneling, after water intrusion through the concrete block basement wall & onto the wood.

While the marine grade urethane may have performed better, & the coating formulas on our old basement varied every few boards - it still isn't made for a heavy water saturation situation - as on a shower/tub - even when only used as a shower.

Secondly, the P.O. of our trailer used a urethane paint from the local home improvement store on the shower/tub pan in his resto of now our 1960 Avion's fiberglass shower/tub pan to change it from the original Aqua to White - which almost immediately started to peel up for him wherever the shower mat suction cups or the later woven mat touched it.

I don't recall if the product was from Home Depot, Lowes, Ace, etc. - but it doesn't matter, because you are generally not going to get a top quality commercial/professional grade paint product from those DIY stores, since they are focused on low price & easy homeowner DIY use - not durability.

I would certainly never specify urethane coatings for a home, residential or commercial building's shower waterproofing - so why use it in your expensive trailer?

If you're unable to find a 2-part resin+hardener gel coat product specifically made for our trailer FG shower pans (as I asked for the "Bullfrog or something..." name above), then you'd be much better off getting some fiberglass 2-part resin made for surfboards or FG boats or automotive use (latter is e.g.: Corvette, Meyers Manx, etc. FG bodies).

But make sure to follow their directions completely - including ambient temperature & especially proper ventilation - i.e.: outside, with all windows & doors open & a huge fan blowing air out, proper breather mask, etc., etc. And no kids nor Lookie-loos hanging around to watch & inhale!

The technical term for the Fiberglass (FG) would be: Glass Reinforced Resin Polymer (GFRP) - so you may hear the resin coatings referred to as being for either or both FG or GFRP.

It comes with color tint if you want to try to match or change your shower/tub color, or just use clear to top coat the same/original color. This product can also be used on vertical FG wall panels, but may be exceedingly hard to get a nice finish at home by brush without sagging/running - so that may require a pro with a proper spray gun.

Anyone come up with the "Bullfrog or something..." Trailer/Boat FG coating 2-part resin product's name for me?

Cheers!
Tom
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[Tom_T]

ATTN Admins - Captcha is Defective Again!

FIVE (5) times trying to post the above post of mine, with it coming up as "Communication Error" then "Pick the squares with Street Signs" & then "Copy & Paste the code into the box below" - 3 more steps - then to come up being sent to a DEAD LINK without posting ANYTHING - is just too much hooey!

Please fix your Captcha system, or have them fix it at their end, or change your security provider - because this is just ridiculous!!!!

Apologies to the OP & readers here for the sidetrack, but if folks get frustrated not being able to post helpful info & just walk away, then you'll lose out.

Tom
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[JCWDCW]

I'll reply to Tom T without quoting his notes
First of all urethane varnishes are not two part urethane finish. Different chemistry based on the same molecule.
I will say that prep is important but that is true for all coatings and I did not obsess over the finish prep on my boat except to be sure the scratches were removed or filled.. I did my boat in 1984 and it is still in the water with its original finish. The system I used is the same as the Marine system you can buy from any marine chandler. Mine happened to be promoted for trucks and airplanes by the manufacturer based in Edmonton Alberta. Today's coatings are far superior to my 1984 stuff.
My experience is that FG gel-coat is extremely hard to handle if you can't spray it. It needs to be specific for top coating, with a wax that floats to the top to seal the finish while it hardens. The finish on FRP boats is sprayed into the mold and then is sealed from air when the glass layers are added which promotes the final hardening of the gel coat
I did in fact use a one part urethane on my rudder which was wood coated with FRP resin and it never peeled except where there was some un-coated wood and that was above the water line.
To say that a shower or tub is submerged is to say in effect that the top sides of a boat are never submerged. On a long haul there is always some part of the topsides under water...for days on end, which is far worse that a tub filled for the time it takes to bathe. If the finish were so touchy they wouldn't use it on airliners beating through rain at hundreds of miles per hour for hours on end..

Prep is important but other choices except for two part epoxy are not nearly so easy to apply, durable or good looking. Epoxy is a no brainer for application but it doesn't have the sheen, it isn't ad durable and it does chalk after time.
My experience!

JCW

[Belegedhel]

So, I am neck-deep in this finishing dilemma as well at the moment. Hear my tale of woe!

Tub and seat are out of a 1973 Airstream, and my best guess is that they are made of extruded ABS, which has become super brittle over the years, and was in really bad shape by the time I got it removed. I had tried to repair my ABS inner wheel wells by using polyester resin based fiber glass, but no matter of roughening with sand paper allowed the resin to stick to the ABS for very long. Despite my every endeavor to find a replacement tub of some description, I ended up having to repair what I had. I started out using a fiberglass resin that was specifically for "SMS" plastic autobody repair, but that stuff was a complete nightmare to work with. Swithced over to marine type epoxy resin to finish up the job. The tub and seat were so cracked, and disintegrated that I ended up with the entire exterior of them reinforced with several layers of FG, and a fair amount of the interior having exposed FG as well.

When it came time to finish out the tub, I decided to "do it right" (as long as I am here...), so I bought the marine gelcoat with, and without wax (which is supposed to seal it and make it cure). Freakishly enough, the final coat of gelcoat, with the wax in it, never hardened up, although the same material formed a hard-as-rock blob in the cup I used to mix it in. So then, on the advice of the manufacturer, I removed all the semi-hard gelcoat with acetone, and had to sand off some of the gel that had actually hardened. Discovered that the gelcoat may have had a chemical reaction with both the fiberglass and with the ABS plastic. So I swore off doing things right, and after getting the surface prepared again, I have painted the whole thing with primer, which seems inert enough to coexist with the ABS, the fiberglass, and the leftover gelcoat (though it is none to hardy).

So now I am scratching my head over what to topcoat with. I have considered "topcoat" marine paint, swimming pool paint (only available by the gallon), the Krylon plastic paint, and the spray-on "Tough as tile" bathroom refurbisher. The big problem with most of these options is that only the Krylon claims to be formulated to stick to plastic (and we all know there are a lot of different plastics out there). The rest are designed for masonry, wood, metal, ceramic, or fiberglass...but not specificlaly for plastic...

This tub will be the death of me... I am not exaggerating when I say that I have been working on this one miserable aspect of the trailer for the better part of a year, and making no progress on anything else!

[Tom_T]

Originally Posted by JCWDCW

First of all urethane varnishes are not two part urethane finish. Different chemistry based on the same molecule.

My experience is that FG gel-coat is extremely hard to handle if you can't spray it.

Prep is important but other choices except for two part epoxy are not nearly so easy to apply, durable or good looking.
JCW

Just to be clear, I never said the urethane varnish is 2-part, in fact I said it & most other urethane paints are 1-part.

I also said that the marine grade urethane varnishes are superior for wet situations, but I'd still not spec it as an Architect to refinish a shower/tub in a home/commercial building. I'd opt for the gel-coat or epoxy porcelain fixture refinishing (read below).

I agree & said that the FG gel-coat is very difficult to apply on vertical surfaces, & best applied by a pro.

I agree on 2-part epoxy generally lacking the sheen, but there are 2-part sprayed epoxy coatings used for home porcelain tub & sink/fixtures refinishing which would be superior finish, hardness & still shiny - but they are spray-on pro finishes.

We'll be having several of our tub/bath/kitchen fixtures refinished shortly in our 1921 Craftsman home, in order to retain the original period fixtures, but with a better finish which won't require bleaching every so often (older porcelain on cast iron leaches rust/iron oxide red through the porcelain coat, requiring periodic bleaching back to white).

There are also automotive products which may have the sheen, being 2-part epoxy top coat/clear coat auto paints - but again are a PITA to work with & need to be sprayed, unless you're an adept car painter with the spray equipment.

If you are not set on doing a DIY, then have a pro refinish it - if you have your shower & other parts out of the trailer (like Belegedhel above), then I'd have a pro refinish it with either epoxy or gel-coat in their shop - & if it's still in the trailer, then get the pro's who come out to do home fixtures in epoxy/urethane to spray it in place (but make sure to do plenty of masking from overspray).

For the DIYer, the "Bullfrog" or whatever name it was gel-coat top coat which I was asking for the actual name & which had been recommended to me a few years back by other vintage trailer restorers as easy to use & brush on our trailer shower/bath pans. I don't know if it was specifically designed for that, or more probably for many other uses, & it had/has been around since the 9160s-70s if I recall correctly.

Unfortunately I cannot recall it's correct product name at this point - Thanx to my Half-zymers & only "remember half the "stuff" half the time!"

I didn't run across anyone at the Ocean Mesa Vintage Trailer Rally this past weekend who recalled the product name either, so I'm not the only one with that memory problem!

Also - I'd just like to say that my Dad would be very proud that "his" urethane varnish formula held up so well on your boat since `84!

Cheers!
Tom
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[JCWDCW]

BELEGEDHEL
Since you did undercoat, and if it has cured, try to get a sample size of the 2-part Marine type topcoat (any color they will give you!) and try a small section that you can then test for durability. I'm sorry but I have no experience with ABS. You did say the Epoxy Resin sticks so there is a very strong case for using 2-part epoxy paint. It doesn't have the sheen of 2-part urethane but it is durable and absolutely waterproof (they use it to seal boat bottoms to stop osmotic blistering) and it does stick to ABS per your experience. Also as Tom T notes there are new epoxy finishes that are designed for tubs, although they are designed to be sprayed I'll bet there are formulations for rolling on too. I would be prepared to roll it on using a sponge roller and then tip it out with a fine brush to reduce any orange peel. You have had such frustration, I would be trying a few spots first to see how it works out. Home Depot or Loews might have a seminar on tub refinishing that you could attend and maybe get a sample
JCW

[JCWDCW]

Quote Tom T "Just to be clear, I never said the urethane varnish is 2-part, in fact I said it & most other urethane paints are 1-part."

Sorry Tom my language was a bit obscure. The point I was trying to make is that urethane varnish and/or single part urethane paint is not the same thing as 2-part Urethane Paint. I had such good luck with 2-part Urethane designed for wet environments I would have no problem recommending it for a Tub or shower. I suspect it is not used for retail home tubs and shower stalls due to the toxicity problems in an industrial work environment.
You are right on with your recommendations re commercial products for this thread. The more we put out there the better informed we all get to be
JCW

[catgunnerson]

Originally Posted by Jewel65

POR-15 Urethane. Hard as a rock. VTS has it and the bathroom photo and review is mine.

https://www.vintagetrailersupply.com...-p/vts-805.htm

Was your rv bathroom metal or plastic/fiberglass? We are restoring a 1975 Argosy and concerned that since the shower pan is not metal the coating might crack. What are your thoughts?