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If you're a renter, isn't this something your landlord should be taking care of? Or at least taking out of your rent?

i agree with Allsunday...we had to have our bathtub refinished and they did it for us for free. i'd ask your landlord and at least see what they say.

What a nightmare! I'm not sure how you'd explain this one to your landlord. I'd probably be looking at ways to fix it myself too.

that stuff is probably pretty toxic.

Anyone find any spot treatments? I just moved and the tub is in pretty good condition except for one spot where the finish is worn away. My landlord isn't going to fix it.

I purchased a clawfoot tub last year and did a bit of research into refinishing/reglazing tubs.

From what I understand, the original enamel on the tub is etched with acid (HCl) and then the new surface is painted on. There are epoxy glazes, and I think an acrylic one. Regardless, once a tub has been "reglazed" it can't ever been restored to its original enamel (and for that reason, I cry everytime I see a beautiful old tub refinished). In your situation, you're probably gonna have to remove all the glazing before re-doing it. I don't think you can effectively touch it up.

From what I also understand, they ALL start peeling. I've heard many reports of professionally refinished tubs peeling after just a couple of years (!).

I would a) see if the landlord will pay and if not, b) just get a kit at Big Orange and do it yourself.

I doubt you're going to get to take refinishing costs out of your rent -- the costs will more likely come out of your security deposit.

I think at this point you have to peel the whole thing. Otherwise it looks like you ruined it.

If you let your landlord see it in its current state, that is.

Butter, thanks for the tips! I have a similar problem and looked into a home kit, but apparently their not much better than spray paint. Do you know better of this than I? Thank you so much :)

If I know LA landlords at all, that is just paint that you're peeling up.

Get yourself a double espresso this weekend and finish the job.

It will be so satisfying.

Then go to that fancy hardware store and West Hollywood and find yourself a specialty porcelain cleaning product and rub the snot out of it.

It'll be fine.

It's a rental.

yeah, I doubt your landlord is going to cover the costs to refinish a tub that you willingly took a razor blade too....it's like having a small burn spot on your kitchen counter so you pick it out and create a two foot hole, then say "Ok, landlord...pay for it!" Looks like you've lost your security deposit and will probably be charged for damages. What possessed you to start peeling? In order to refinish a tub, the original layer gets sanded down, so what you are looking at is not it's original condition anyway. I would just admit to my landlord to what I did and see if we can find a solution together...you are going to pay for it any way you look at, so you may as well get it fixed in a way that will make you happy while you live there. Also, do some research and make sure you won't ruin the whole tub by using it now that the top layer is gone.

Yay! First person.

it'll take about 3 days for the entire process to complete. and you can't use the tub until its completely dry.

this is what you're looking for. i'm saving up the energy to do this on my own tub at home (nothing special, just an old steel standard bathtub that has its epoxy coating coming off due to too much drain cleaner).

http://www.homaxproducts.com/products/kitchenbath/05/index.html

modnemo has it. this stuff is great.

I was looking to have my tub reglazed so I posted a "wanted" ad on craiglist hoping to find someone who could get this done for under $300.

Well to my surprise, a very nice gal took the time to send me an email with detailed instructions on how to do this myself for under $20. For the AT community I have reposted this email below:

"Ok, here's how to do it:
Clean out-remove any old caulk around the tub edge.
Buy the kit at Lowes. It has 2 cans in it, don't get the spray kind. You end up pouring one of the cans into the other and it makes a chemical reaction then you get started (you can't let the can sit for days like you can with regular paint. ) Buy several china brisle brushes (the really cheap ones with the wooden handles, medium size, you just throw these out when done, don't clean them or let them sit for they will harden. then you just paint it on, it is self leveling so there are no brush marks. put on light coats so there are no drips. it goes on thick but is really easy just like paint. I painted right up against the edge of the tub and filled in the crack a little, after you can put a bead of calk over it too. it will take 2 coats, you have to wait a day between (i think, read the directions of course), it has to dry then you paint on another coat. I think you have to let it sit without using it for like 4 days. so I hope you have another tub to use, we didn't so I just went to the gym to shower or my neighbors.
so don't be afraid to do thin coats, you'd better be safe and do more coats so there are no drips or bubbles. make this a weekend project so you can get it done right away and it has plenty of time to dry. You will be amazed and so proud of yourself, believe me! you will also have to paint around the chrome drains so you can use a small artist brush for that or tape it off, if you do get paint on it just let it dry and scrape it off with a flat head screw driver, it will chip off but do it slow so you don't scratch it.
Afterwards it wil clean very easy but DO NOT use bleach or cleaners with bleach in it, it will yellow it. I've also found that the Mr.Clean Magic Eraser works awesome on it for soap scum, but you won't get build up on it for few months. just use Scrubbing Bubbles and a sponge. Again, read the directions, I am remembering what I can. You will also need to buy TSP, in Lowes, which is like an acid wash with dulls and takes off any finish and gives it "tooth" for the glaze to stick, that's only like $5, the kit I bought was $15 a few years ago but should be right around that price give or take a few bucks, but you don't need to buy anything super expensive, it should have 2 cans in the kit.

You'll need:

I Glaze Kit (comes in white or almond)
Can of TSP
several china bristle brushes, small and medium size (don't get big ones because they won't fit in the can, too wide)
small artist brush for drains (optional)
caulk to re-caulk after, get one for bathtubs that is mold proof
Let it sit for 4-5, the longer the better so it can cure, it may feel dry but it needs to cure without water being on it (read directions)

Good Luck, you can do it! "

I am very familiar with getting yourself in way too deep with a little picking/curiosity. Here, I would say keep in mind its a rental, and not spend more than $25 on the project. The best advice above was to finish your peel-job, and then give it a good scrub. It is the most financially reasonable option, and while the tub may not be bright white or match your tiles exactly, at least it will be even. And, again, it is a rental.

Having recently been in this situation, I think I can offer some advice. Admittedly, I didn't pick at the paint in our old claw foot tub, but it was peeling away in generous sheets.

Our landlord, an amazingly talented tradesman, consulted with his coworkers who all told him about the problems with reglazing a tub with a kit from the hardware store. In fact, a fellow at the end of our street who is renovating his century home did it only to have it all peel away within a year. Don't do it. If it could be done with decent results, our landlord would have done it - trust me, he does everything around here and it's always done beautifully.

I our case, our landlord paid to have somebody come and reglaze the tub properly. It was a two day process and this guy had all of the ventilation equipment (including a serious looking gas mask). He had to mechanically etch the tub and then glaze a few coats on. It cost $600.00. Anyone that does the tub should guarantee it, in writing. Ours is guaranteed not to peel for 10 years.

It's not your responsibility, it's your landlords. If the tub was already peeling, it should have been done before you moved in. By the way, I'm not an expert, but judging from the first picture, your tub has been painted, not glazed. Our tub glaze was lifting in hard, metal-like sheets, not scraping like yours.

p.s. Stop touching that stuff!!! It could be full of lead and a whack of other nasty stuff! :O

Agreed with amt230...I'm constantly shocked by the kind of money some people on here are willing to pour into rentals. I'm pouring enough money into a rent as it is!

The tub probably started peeling because the landlord cheaped out and did a DIY on this...

...and the only way it's going to get it done right is to call in a professional - because there's no way you're going to get that tub in proper condition to reglaze by yourself, and the landlord isn't going to do a good job of it either.

We just had a our tub refinished. The prep and painting was on Monday from 8am until 2pm. Yesterday, he came back to clean-up and re-caulk the tub. We will be able to use tomorrow night. Our tub had been 'refinished' when the apartment went condo but we think the developer never did the prep so the finish started peeling immediately. This finish comes with 5 year warranty. The total cost was $350.

Hey, this is great advice on the DIY version (since many of us -- and I do actually mean the plural "us" -- probably don't want to spring for $600 to have a professional redo our entire tubs).

But just a thought -- go easy on the use of TSP, especially if you're an AT-Chicago reader (although the same goes for mid-Atlantic readers whose sewer systems drain to the Chesapeake). TSP or "trisodium phosphate" contains (as its name suggests) a lot of phosphates, and phosphates are a key enabling factor for algae blooms. High-phosphate detergents have been phased out in the upper midwest, and I don't know how easy it is to get TSP at the local bog-box stores there, but it's something to keep in mind if/when you use it.

Thank you for speaking in the first person! The post would sound much less intelligent if you had said, "Our better half and we were...."

Here is a link to an article in Chicago Home Garden, on their web site:

http://www.chicagohomemag.com/Chicago-Home/September-October-2008/Refinish-Y
our-Old-Bathtub/

Looks like some of the prices here are a bit cheaper than the ones you
quoted.

I would say you should have it professionally refinished, unless you know
what you are doing you could end up making this a lot worse with a DIY kit.

I know you wouldn't want to spend the money on having it professionally
done, but consider this: your landlord may take the money from your security
deposit if he/she sees the damage to the tub.

Good luck!

Wendy and Mrs. M--don't you think that his wife forced him to use first person, singular? She's not the one who peeled it, after all.

Most people get their peeling fix with sunburns.

I used the DIY two-can brush-it-on stuff on my rental tub and it worked great. My tub and sink had been painted with the same paint as the walls and was gross and peeling off. I removed the loose paint, cleaned with normal bathroom cleaner, then painted the glaze on. I did it just as we were about to go out of town for a week so it had proper time to really cure before we were running water again -- that may have made the biggest difference in longevity as we lived there for several more years and never experienced any peeling or cracking in the new finish. Cost about $30 I think.

yep it's a rental, and if the landlord did a cheap job of it in the first place then he'll do a cheap job of it again. I'd go with the kit or just buy some enamal in a funky color & do a cheap job of it myself I'm thinking cobalt blue, it'd be so pretty (for awhile)!
I paint, tear up carpet put big holes in walls no matter where I live, I've never had to pay any damages, hey if I've gotta live here I'm gonna like it.

Jeanne, can you give me the name/# of the people that reglazed your tub?
Thanks
Rachel