Dallas Bathtub Refinishing Reviews Coatings The bathtub refinishing Industry has undergone radical changes in the recent past. This includes steady changes over the past 20 years but the last 5 to 7 years have provided technological advancements that makes the Epoxy D.I.Y kits completely obsolete. So many times In our Industry I hear "I need to have my bathtub painted" or "I'm pretty handy I will get a bathtub painting kit this weekend and redo my tub". Please just hear me out before you make a decision. I'm not going to try to sell you on hiring me. I'm just going to present evidence and what I have found through my Dallas bathtub refinishing reviews. The (2) things you must know are that:
The consumer sees the stock photos on the box and they are led to believe the steel wool and sandpaper strip that comes with most epoxy kits are going to scuff the tub and then they stress clean, clean, clean the surface and brush it on (the newer kits are rattle cans). I have worked with Epoxy paint from 1991 until 1996 one thing I can tell you is that once mixed you better use it in about 2 hours after it had a "sweat in" time of about 30 minutes. This gave the two component time to mix. I have no earthly Idea how they are selling a one part can and calling it Epoxy! I'm sure a group of attorneys labeled that according to specific definitions of the properties just to make it legally be called 'Epoxy' but in my personal review it acted more like an oil based or Alkyd paint than an epoxy! I also notice they like to use words like "withstands scrubbing" and "water resistant" then the stock logo picture on the box and the unsuspecting consumer has a prepackaged kit that according to my countless experiences will absolutely peel and flake off. Through no fault of the consumer! Yet, the consumer will doubt themselves when it happens.... that's right the what if's will begin. What if I had only prepared the surface a little longer. What if I had only bought two kits and applied it thicker. What if ... What If I told you that you were doomed from the word go. Dallas bathtub refinishing services reviews the facts for just a minute. The D.I.Y. epoxy kits I have seen, I can only speak to what I have seen at all the specialty paint stores and home improvement stores. Those I have seen are so diluted down (of course they call it self leveling) and runny that you are forced to apply thin layers to the vertical surfaces and careful on the horizontal surfaces because it will puddle and ... hmm.. self level right over the side of the tub! Now remember this stuff has been in a can for ... lets be conservative ... weeks already mixed and didn't cure so maybe in 3 or 4 days it will cure enough (and be full of dust and loose hair) that you can add thicker layers to the vertical areas. Dallas Bathtub Refinishing Services in Dallas TX So let's recap. You cleaned the surface of the tub with the sandpaper, and steel wool and I think they recommend denatured alcohol. too. So you cleaned it well. You applied the kit you purchased and for good measure let it cure a few days and now you applied a little more because you want to get great coverage. Now you decide to let it sit for 3 days before you use it. You take a picture of it because it looks glossy and you worked hard on it... so you take a picture and go relax for the evening. When you come back the following day does it look a little yellow and dull... just not as glossy and not white.. maybe off- white? But still maybe that is okay. I mean by the time you get a shower curtain up it will look fine. Now you start to use it and it feels a little bumpy... (probably airborne dust that settled during that 36 hour drying time). Now you clean it with bathroom cleaner and it turns yellowish brown.... epoxy tends to yellow when bleach is used on it. Its a chemical reaction. Something that won't yellow This brings us up in the time line to right around 1997. We had to find something that would not yellow but was strong like epoxy (because they ignored the other issues like peeling and flaking and blamed those on the applicator... not the product) I will cover this in a minute. So aliphatic acrylic polyurethane was the coating choice of professionals. It too is "Water resistant" and has UV protection so it wont yellow from the breakdown of the sun as quickly... (what this has to do with bleach causing a chemical stain I have NO IDEA). However, now to get the warranty the consumer had to only use the disinfecting cleaner sold without bleach... (We found out the answer guys!) Other Refinishers are still Using Aliphatic Acrylic Urethane (Water Resistant Paint) on bathtubs and tile. Please Remember huge difference between Water Resistant and Water Proof also big difference between paint and plastic... Let me explain. Dallas Bathtub Refinishing Reviews Aliphatic Acrylic Urethane became the paint of choice. It looked good, it applied easy, it was easy to manipulate and the disinfectant cleaners without bleach prevented most of them from yellowing. However, we still had peeling and flaking. So other refinishers started using a two part epoxy primer painted onto the tub first. Then the Aliphatic Acrylic Urethane (that is water resistant) being used in a bathtub would usually not peel for a year or two and with a 5 year prorated warranty other refinishers give if it did peel you just redid it and bought another year or two (at a pro rated price to the customer) and now that bathtub refinishing job just cost you more money and you will probably have to pay again before it's over! Dallas Bathtub Refinishing Reviews my procedure I'm not going to use paint. I'm not going to paint a two part epoxy primer under my coating. I am not going to use water resistant paint. The Dallas Bathtub Refinishing Process will be completed by the polyester (Water PROOF) coatings as endorsed by the Professional Bathtub Refinishing Association.
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Dallas Bathtub Refinishing
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