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Bathtub Liners vs. Bathtub Refinishing
June 2, 2020

We all know how invasive and expensive bathtub replacement is but that’s what most of us opt for. Due to the expensive nature of replacing our bathtubs, companies have come up with ways of refinishing and even liners. This is because the less fortunate may not have all that cash to replace their bathtubs hence have them repaired. All these options have their advantages and disadvantages but one of the options weighs the others.

Bathtub Refinishing

Bathtub refinishing entails patching, cleaning, sanding, and even repainting the existing services. These services can only be done by a professional company. The coating used is a special type of coating that is only used for bathtubs and ordinary paint can’t be used.

Bathtub Refinishing
Clawfoot Bathtub

Liquid Porcelain Standard White

What a Bathtub Liner Company Does

The company will visit your place, get the measurements of the bathtub for a liner and send the information to their company. If there is a liner in stock with the same measurements, an order will be made immediately. During the installation day, soap dishes, drains, fixtures, and all other obstructions will have to be removed. The new liner is normally installed over the old bathtub and around it too.

Below are three options that you will have whenever your bathtub needs renewal:

  • A total replacement.
  • Bathtub refinishing.
  • Bathtub liners. (In this article, the bathtub is used to refer to shower combs, showers, tubs, and even bathtubs.)
Bathtub Refinishing
Clawfoot Bathtub
Silver Metallic

Project Cleaner

After the refinishing process, the company will have to clean up the place properly. This is because the whole refinishing process is very messy as it involves spraying paint and even sanding. The company should also create a negative flow of air into the bathroom as this will help remove the paint-laden air out of the house through the window. Other elements inside the bathroom should be fully covered with drop cloths or even taped up for safety purposes. This will help avoid staining things in the bathroom with the tub paint.

Which Gives the Better Look?

It is a crime to cover up a unique bathtub with a liner. When you refinish your bathtub, it will retain its lines but with a very good surface look which will be new. Tub liners normally cover the old worn-out surfaces hence the old bathtub will look as good as new.

The Cheaper Option

It is very obvious that refinishing is the cheaper option. This will however depend on the company that will offer the refinishing services but despite this, refinishing is much cheaper. You can have your bathtub refinished at 550$ but other homeowners have had their bathtubs refinished by 250$-300$. A basic liner cost about $850 which is expensive than refinishing your bathtub.

The Friendly Option

Refinishing is friendlier than liners. You should hire a professional company to refinish your bathtub rather than doing it yourself. This will cost you less than $100.

Reputable Companies

You should carefully choose the company that you want to refinish your bathtub as some companies may end up doing more harm to your bathtub than good. In the market, anybody who owns a sheet of plastic and a spray gun call him/herself a bathtub re-finisher. This simply means that one should take caution when choosing a bathtub re-finisher. A good bathtub re-finisher should be able to make your bathtub look as good as new. You have to do good research on the available companies so as to choose a company with a good reputation and that will offer quality services.

Clawfoot bathtub Refinishing
Clawfoot Bathtub
Liquid Porcelain Standard White Inside
Stone Finish Rocky Road Outside

The Option That Will Provide a Longer Lasting Solution

Re liners offer longer-lasting solutions to bathtubs. After few years of refinishing, the bathtub will show scratches and the painting will end up peeling off. My bathtub which was refinished by a professional lasted for only 15 and a half years before a dropping by a bottle of shampoo removed enough paint that water started infiltrating under the bathtub coating. When water gets under the coating, more and more paintings will be peeled off. When compared to bathtub liners, the liners are thicker and hence will definitely last longer.

Advantages

The chief advantage of refinishing is its cost. Refinishing is much cheaper. You also have the ability to scale your refinishing up or down depending on your planned budget. You have to take note that the cheaper the refinishing process is the less time it will last.

The chief advantage of liners is that they will last for a very long time. If the liners are installed professionally such that water doesn’t keep on migrating between the liner and the old tub surface then the liners will last as if it is a new bathtub.

The Disadvantages of Refinishing and Liners

The fact that water can migrate below the liner surface is a very big disadvantage of liners. When this happens, the only solution is removing the tub which is very expensive, and replacing it with a new bathtub.

You can have your bathtub refinished and yet not achieve even the least of what you expected. This is the chief disadvantage of refinishing. You can even pay a whole 250$ expecting it to last for at least three years but six months later, the bathtub coating is already peeling off. You will look for the re-finisher who did that job but he/she will be nowhere to be found hence you will have to back into your pockets and use your hard-earned money once again.

Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.

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