Painting over Fresh Tub Repair

Once you have performed a tub repair, you may notice that the fixed part of your bathtub does not fit with the rest of the bathroom suite. A repaired tub will often have a ceramic filler or something similar, which will stand out as bright white. This will draw attention to the damage in your tub, and may even look worse than the original cause of your tub repair. While you could have adjusted the filler or caulk so that it more closely resembled your original tub color, another option is to use a ceramic tile paint to cover over your mistake.

Preparation

Before you can start painting over the tub repair, you will need to protect the rest of the bathtub. Paint splashes on ceramic bathtubs can be very difficult to get rid of, so one solution is simply to mask over the area that doesn't need to be covered. Use a masking tape around the sides of the bath and waterproof sheeting, such as garbage bin liners or plastic bags. It is also a good idea to cover over any nearby faucets, cabinets, or bathroom furniture that could accidentally be caught by splashes of paint. When you have covered over the area that is not going to be painted, you should make sure that the bathtub is scrupulously cleaned and that there is no dirt or grit, which would become caught in the surface of your paint.

Refinishing the Bathtub

The most common method of covering up a large tub repair is to refinish the bathtub using a fresh coat of paint. This paint will be sprayed over the surface of the entire tub, allowing you to give it a uniform look. When you are using this method of recovering from a bathtub repair, you will need to sand down the surface of the tub slightly in order to give it a rougher surface. This will allow the paint to grip more fully. You can use a spray paint for this purpose, as it will provide the best coverage, with an even application that will not show that it has been painted.

Using a Small Amount of Paint

If you have only performed the tub repair on a small part of the bathtub, you may be reluctant to cover over the whole area with a fresh coat of paint. The other solution to the problem is to use a small spot of paint that is not easy to dissolve in water. Some oil-based paints are suitable for this, although you can also find paints that are specifically designed to be used in bathrooms. These are usually waterproof and suitable for ceramic tiles. Apply your ceramic paint with a small paintbrush, taking care not to leave large streaks, and only painting in one direction.