Reglaze the tub or replace it?

When reglazing is the right call

A sound cast-iron or steel tub with a tired surface is an excellent candidate. A good refinish — by someone who actually etches and prepares the surface rather than spraying over it — lasts roughly eight to twelve years. A cheap one peels in two, and peeling is far uglier than the stains you started with.

Ask what the preparation is, how long between coats, and what the warranty covers. Ventilate hard during and after; the chemicals involved are not trivial.

When to replace instead

• The tub is cracked, or flexes underfoot.
• It is a thin acrylic unit that was never much good.
• You are moving plumbing or retiling the surround anyway — at that point the tub is the cheap part of the job.

The mistake people make either way

Reglazing the tub and leaving the surround tile ages badly. Bright new white next to tired 1980s tile makes the tile look worse than it did before, and the room reads as half-finished. Do both, or do neither.

If you are selling

A reglaze is one of the few pre-sale cosmetic jobs that reliably pays, because it removes a visible negative for a small number. It belongs on the same list as paint and cleaning in what is worth fixing before you list.

If the tub is coming out for good, read the tub-to-shower conversion before you commit — keeping one tub in the house matters to resale.

What a good refinish involves

1. 1Strip and clean, including removing old caulk and any previous coating.
2. 2Etch or abrade the surface so the new coating has something to hold.
3. 3Repair chips and level them before coating.
4. 4Spray in thin coats, with the room ventilated and masked properly.
5. 5Cure, then re-caulk. Using the tub early is what ruins most of these.

Ask which of those five steps are in the price. The cheap version skips the second one, and that is the version that peels.

Living with a refinished tub

Treat it as a coating rather than a surface. No abrasive cleaners, no bath mats with suction cups, and nothing left standing on it for days. Done properly and looked after, a refinish is unremarkable for a decade.

Tell whoever cleans the house, too. Most early failures I have seen were a cleaning product rather than the coating.