After a hard day at work, there is nothing better than taking a bubble bath, right? But it would be a different experience when you find your once-shiny bathtub has lost some of its sheens. And the shine has been replaced with scratches, fissures, and mysterious dirt stains!
Everything in this world is transient. Therefore, you should keep that in mind before anything else. You might have taken great care to maintain your bathroom spotless. Yet, your bathroom fixtures like sinks and tubs may still eventually succumb to typical wear and tear.
But how can you bring back your bathroom’s old shine? Well, keep on reading this article to find out.
What Is Reglazing?
Reglazing something means that you will apply a new shiny coat or ‘glaze’ to make something’s appearance look better. This process is usually done in antiques, vintage copper tubs, or old wooden furniture.
Reglazing does not cost a lot of money and you can even do it yourself if you want to. You only have to sand, fix cracks and chips, prime, paint, and polish. Reglazing your bathroom also involves repainting, refinishing, and resurfacing.
This process allows you to remove deep and old scratches as well as watermarks and faded paint.
Top Reglazed Bathroom Ideas
Reglazing your bathroom and making it sparkle again doesn’t have to be costly. Its overall shine reflects how each aspect of the room was taken care of. Yes, you can have your bathtub reglazed but it wouldn’t do much if your sink was worn, right?
Thus, it is important to do the best you can for each bathroom fixture and make them shine again. But how can you do that?
1. Re-Paint
If you don’t have a lot of money, repainting your bathroom will be the safest and most effective option. But first, a word of caution. It’ll take longer than you expect.
Why? Well, your bathroom might be the smallest part of your house so you don’t have a lot of room to move your tools around. Not to mention that there are a lot of fixtures you need to avoid.
When planning the painting process of your bathroom, you will need to use a lot of your time and patience. Wrap whatever you can in old newspapers so it won’t have paint splatters. Also, try to get smaller painting tools that would fit the space you have.
You must also consider which paint you will use. If your bathroom’s air is often moist, then you might want to get mold-resistant paints to prevent the growth of mildew.
2. Updating the Fixtures in Your Bathroom
Due to constant use, bathroom fixtures may get tarnished, worn, and get rough around the edges. Simply update these features to fix any leaky faucets or dripping showerheads.
This will allow you to save more water and prevent mildew by lessening the moisture.
3. Reglazing a Bathroom Bathtub
This process is commonly called resurfacing, recoating, or repainting. It is followed by priming and painting the tub before buffing it to a shiny finish. You may use this method on your copper bathtub and give your bathroom an elegant look.
Bathtub reglazing is merely a cosmetic procedure. Thus, it’s only meant to be used as a short-term repair. Any tub like a copper clawfoot tub or any other tub can be reglazed with these steps quickly. How can you reglaze your bathtub?
- Remove any previous coats of paint. You must work on a clean, smooth surface. Before beginning any work on the tub, you shall remove any old glaze or paint chips.
- Make sure the area is spotless. You can take the assistance of experts here as well. They will clean the old surface to ensure optimal adherence to the new glazing.
- If you have a freestanding copper tub, the dirt should be removed from the surface. The surface is sanded if required to eliminate any extra paint, dirt, or other microscopic particles.
- Work on your copper soaking tub. Some tubs need the repair of minor chips or corrosion that might lead to further damage.
- Sweep it clean. Once the removal stages are done on the copper bathtub, you may begin the procedure by wiping the surface.
Instant Care Tips
There are a few things you’ll need to do after a reglazing job:
- Allow the new finish to sit for at least 24 hours before using the restroom. Getting wet in the bathroom might harm the finishing of vintage copper tubs before they can dry.
- You may carefully remove the tape used to protect other surfaces after 24–48 hours.
Care Tips for the Long Run for a Copper Tub Bathroom
- Regular cleaning with wax
- Dryness and ventilation
- Avoiding harsh cleaners
1. Clean and Scrub the Bathroom’s Floor
There are a few options when it comes to the floor, but the most obvious is to use your bare hands. A new scrubbing brush, cleaning chemicals, and elbow grease will work. It may show a startling outcome.
For reglazing purposes, consider replacing your flooring if it is beyond cleaning. Because of the lesser floor area, installing a new bathroom floor will not be wise.
2. Replace Caulk and Grout
Grout and caulk are two more vital yet frequently ignored details. Whenever something gets dirty, it doesn’t look good. Cleaning the grout and caulking around the copper tubs and sinks is a cheap way to brighten up a bathroom.
Many people are astonished at how much of a difference it makes. To freshen up your bathroom at a low cost, you may use affordable grout and caulk.
3. Reglaze a Bathroom Sink
- Preparation is key to a successful reglazing project at home.
- Begin by doing a deep sink cleaning. To guarantee a thorough cleaning, you might use specialized cleaning supplies.
- After cleaning the sink, sand it using 400-600 grit sandpaper. It will remove the previous glaze.
- You should also use a solvent to remove any silicone caulking around your sink. This caulking will obstruct the new glaze from adhering correctly to the sink. So remove it before applying the glaze.
- Use a grease-removing cleanser to get your sink as clean as possible before glazing.
- An epoxy primer should be used as the initial glazing coat on your bathroom sink. To achieve a long-lasting finish for your new glaze, you’ll want to use this method.
Reglazing Safety Considerations
The chemicals you use to prepare your bathroom sink for reglazing might be hazardous to the sink. When using severe cleaning agents, such as solvents or acids, it is essential to wear gloves.
1. Limit the Tile You’re Using
When you employ a professional to lay out the tile, the price goes up significantly. Focus on high-traffic areas like the floor instead of the whole shower stall.
How to Reglaze Tile?
An epoxy acrylic that appears and performs like ceramic is used to paint the tile and grout in place. A mold and abrasion-resistant high gloss coating have been created for tile. It can be used for reglazing purposes too.
- Remove shower curtains, soap trays, escutcheons, handles, or towel racks. You have to do it, especially if the tile is in a bathroom and there are any obstructions.
- With a wire brush and putty knife, you can easily remove any big, stuck-on dirt particles from the tile.
- Bleach and water are great for cleaning up mold and mildew (especially in grout). Using an abrasive cleanser, scrub thoroughly.
- A two-part tile reglazing product is poisonous when utilized in tiny, confined spaces. Open all the windows in the bathroom to let fresh air in.
- Place the reglaze in the paint tray. Roll the product over the tile, taking care not to let the liquid pool in the tile seams.
- Before applying the second coat, let the first coat dry for an hour.
Conclusion
Reglazing your bathroom is a great way to save money and time. The new coat’s lifetime may be extended to 10 years or more if you take care of it correctly. With proper handling and care, your bathroom will surely sparkle for the next years to come!