0

I accidentally damaged my tub, the color is still there but the finish or outer layer shell is missing.

Any ideas how I can repair this without making it look worse?

enter image description here

isherwood
  • 119,766
  • 7
  • 148
  • 349
Ryan F
  • 11
  • 2
  • 1
    What is your tub made out of? Is it fiberglass or plastic? Is it porcelain over cast iron? That will go a _looong_ way toward indicating what you need to do to repair it. Also, if you simply search here for "tub repair" I'm about 99.99% certain you'll find an answer, as there have been a ton of questions about doing just this. I'd flag this as a duplicate, but there are different questions about repairing different tub materials and without knowing yours, it's hard to know which it's a dupe of. – FreeMan Feb 17 '21 at 16:19
  • That looks like an acrylic type “fiberglass shell” tub. Keep any additional water or soap from getting in there there are utube videos on how to patch but it is not usually a quick answer when the backing is damaged. – Ed Beal Feb 17 '21 at 16:44
  • Sorry should have provided more detail. It’s a Kohler Jacuzzi. The tag in the inside is worn off, if I were to guess the material is plastic. It is at least where the pop off is to the motor. – Ryan F Feb 17 '21 at 17:20
  • 1
    Does this answer your question? [Is there an approved way of fixing a cracked Fiberglass Tub/Shower?](https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/8576/is-there-an-approved-way-of-fixing-a-cracked-fiberglass-tub-shower) – FreeMan Feb 17 '21 at 18:39

1 Answers1

1

IMHO, IME, you're going to have to replace the tub to get a truly acceptable fix.

Your description of the material suggests acrylic over fiberglass, or at least that's the most common sort of "plastic" tub these days.

There are various products that can be used to attempt repair. They are probably better than doing nothing, but the odds of getting a repair that looks "like it never happened" are, in my experience, very low.

The primary difficulties are precise color matching and getting the finish of the repair to match & blend with the finish of the rest of the tub. Bonding can also be an issue, but that's generally less of a problem (assuming reasonable attention to detail.)

Ecnerwal
  • 174,759
  • 9
  • 212
  • 440
  • I've had two cast iron tubs fully 'refinished' (not sure that even works with fiberglass/acrylic) but it's failed at some level in both cases. It's unfortunate but I think you are right. – JimmyJames Feb 17 '21 at 18:31
  • I recently repaired an enamel chip in a casr iron Kohler tub and it came out great. The paint/filler was expensive ($80/ounce) but you can't even see the repair. – HoneyDo Feb 17 '21 at 19:36