Repairing a Fiberglass Bathtub

Many people are moving into houses and apartments that have a fiberglass bathtub or shower stall. Although fiberglass is inexpensive and easy to install, after many years or too much weight in the bathtub may result in the fiberglass cracking. When this happens to you, you do not have to worry about calling in a professional to repair it. You can actually repair this crack or even a chip in the fiberglass with very little effort on your part, and it is very inexpensive to do.

You can drive to your local department store and pick up a can of fiberglass resin, especially made for small repair jobs. It comes with more than enough resin, a fiberglass cloth, and some hardener. Mostly all you have to do is to read the instructions on the back if you forget what I said here. You will also need to purchase some fine and course sandpaper for cleaning the tub around the area that is to be repaired.

Keep in mind that resin will not stick on wet surfaces, so if nothing else use a blow dryer to evaporate all the moisture from around the area. Follow the instructions on the back of the can for the mixture you will need to use; and in a small disposable bowl, pour in the amount for your job, just to soak a small piece of fiberglass material to be inserted into the crack itself. Or if you want to use two pieces of cloth; one to insert into the crack and one to go over the top of the crack with the piece already inserted, as well.

While the piece/s is soaking with a fine piece of sand paper, vigorously sand the area that is to be repaired, and then clean the dust from around the area. A clean dry surface is essential for repairing most jobs, no matter what they are.

Next take the small cloth that has been soaked and using a small sharp object raise the crack, causing it to separate, and insert the cloth so that it completely fills the crack from side to side. Spread a layer of liquid resin that has hardened, over an the area around the plug that you just made then lay the larger cloth over the surface and make sure you spread out all the wrinkles.

Give the resin plenty of time to dry and cure. I usually let it cure for 48 hours; however, it may not take that long. Once it is dry, you can then sand the surface of the fiberglass with a rough piece of sand paper and smooth it out using the fine sand paper.

Clean all the dust away from the newly fiber glassed area and pick it out of the tub. You can now take a clear or the same color of oil based spray paint and spray one thick layer over the fiberglass. After that has dried, spray another coat of paint on the tub and let it dry.

Once the paint has dried completely, you can then begin using the bathtub again.