All over Washington County, worn bathtubs are resurfaced in place: repairs first, gloss second, fresh caulk on the way out.
One number reaches the technician who would hold the gun. The figure comes on the call, not after a visit.
(866) 951-0558The voice on the line belongs to the trade, not to a switchboard reading a script. Two minutes of plain description are enough to price a standard tub.
Your old tub probably looks like a horror movie prop right now.
Maybe the surface has turned a nasty shade of yellow over the decades.
This quick guide shows you how to get a glossy, fresh bathroom without spending thousands of dollars on messy demolition work.
Instead of ripping out the entire basin, you can opt for a smart, modern process that coats the existing fixture with a super-strong, shiny new layer.
Our skilled local team travels directly to your home to handle this tricky process safely.
We will happily give you a free estimate so you can plan your budget with absolute certainty.
Buying a brand new fixture seems simple enough at first glance.
However, you quickly realize that the old piece is literally cemented into your bathroom walls.
Removing it means smashing tiles, cutting pipes, and creating mountains of dusty debris.
This chaotic mess can easily drag on for a week or more.
On top of that, you have to pay plumbers and drywall installers to fix the damage.
Which means a simple project suddenly costs as much as a decent used car.
Our specialized local service avoids all that chaos by keeping your original piece right where it is.
This clever alternative saves you a massive amount of stress and cash.
By choosing this route, you keep your bathroom functional and avoid living in a construction zone.
We complete the entire transformation in just a single afternoon.
| The Hard Way (Full Replacement) | The Smart Way (Our Refinishing Service) |
|---|---|
| Demolition dust everywhere for days | Clean, contained workspace with exhaust fans |
| Expensive plumbing and tile repairs required | No plumbing changes or tile destruction |
| Takes up to a week to complete | Ready to use in about twenty-four hours |
First, we scrub the old surface with specialized industrial cleaners to remove decades of soap scum.
This deep cleaning step is crucial because even a tiny speck of oil can ruin the bond.
We then patch up any deep chips or rust spots with a heavy-duty filler.
Next, we apply a chemical bonding agent that acts like superglue for the new finish.
After that, we spray multiple layers of a high-tech acrylic coating using professional ventilation equipment.
This meticulous technique leaves you with a deep, liquid-like shine that mimics brand new porcelain.
Eventually, the material cures into a rock-hard shell that resists scratches and stains.
This means you get the clean look you want without the high price tag.
Our friendly crew makes sure every single corner looks absolutely flawless before we pack up.
Once we finish our work, you need to treat the new surface with a little bit of respect.
Harsh abrasive powders or bleach will dull the beautiful luster over time.
Instead, you should use mild dish soap and a soft sponge to keep it sparkling clean.
This simple habit prevents scratches and keeps the glossy barrier intact.
Which is why our customers enjoy their gorgeous results for a decade or more.
We always share these easy maintenance tips with you face-to-face during our visit.
Maybe you own a classic home with a heavy cast-iron clawfoot basin that you absolutely adore.
These vintage pieces are incredibly sturdy, but their enamel wears thin after generations of use.
Our on-site restoration process preserves that historic charm while making the interior look brand new.
Perhaps you are a landlord looking to modernize a rental property quickly between tenants.
A bright, clean bathroom attracts better renters and increases your monthly property value.
Our speedy service lets you list the home on the market without any long delays.
Even if you have a cheap fiberglass unit that feels flimsy, we can help.
We can reinforce the bottom of the structure and spray a fresh, rigid coat over the faded plastic.
This restores the rigid feel and bright color of your shower setup instantly.
Throwing away a giant piece of cast iron or fiberglass is terrible for our local Iowa landfills.
These heavy items do not decompose, so they just sit in the ground forever.
Choosing to restore your fixture is a fantastic way to practice eco-friendly home improvement.
This green decision keeps perfectly good materials out of the trash heap.
On top of that, you save energy that factories would use to manufacture a new unit.
You get to enjoy a gorgeous washroom while keeping your environmental footprint very small.
Our polite technicians respect your property and always arrive right on schedule.
We carefully mask off your floors, walls, and vanity with heavy paper and tape.
This protective step ensures that no overspray or dust lands on your personal belongings.
We also set up a powerful exhaust system to vent any chemical odors out through the nearest window.
This keeps your indoor air clean and comfortable while we perform our magic.
Once we pack up our gear, we clean up the workspace so thoroughly you won't even know we were there.
After we leave, you only have to wait a day for the coating to fully cure.
Then, you can peel off the tape and enjoy a long, relaxing soak in your beautiful tub.
It is truly the easiest home upgrade you will ever experience.
We proudly serve the wonderful communities throughout Washington County, Iowa, USA, bringing top-notch craftsmanship to every single neighborhood.
Our local crew knows the area well and loves helping our neighbors save hard-earned money.
Whether you live in a cozy rural home or a modern town residence, we are ready to assist.
Our team is fully equipped to handle any residential or commercial project, big or small.
We take pride in our honest pricing and our friendly, down-to-earth customer service.
You can trust us to treat your home with the exact same care we would show our own.
Do not spend another day staring at an ugly, stained, or chipped washing area.
Contact us right away to request your completely free quote with absolutely no obligation.
We will visit your property, assess your fixture, and show you how easy it is to fall in love with your bathroom again.
Three quiet stages carry the whole result. They are also the ones nobody sees in the after photo.
Stage 1 of 3
A reglaze fails or lasts on what happens before the gun comes out. The old surface gets scrubbed of soap film and silicone, etched or primed so the new material has something to grip, then wet sanded until it feels like fine paper. Skip any of that and the prettiest coat in the world lets go within a year, which is exactly the story most peeling tubs tell us.
Stage 2 of 3
Chips, rust blooms and worn drain rings are ground back to sound material and rebuilt with polyester filler, then sanded flush until a fingertip cannot find the spot. Coating over damage only photographs well on day one; a repair you cannot feel is what keeps the finish honest for years.
Stage 3 of 3
The topcoat goes on in fine sprayed passes with an extractor pulling air out the window the whole time. Sprayed layers flow together into one even skin, which is why the result reads as gloss rather than as paint. Brushes and rollers leave the texture that gives cheap refinishing its reputation.
Three real ways out of a worn tub. We only do the first one, so the other two columns are simply what we would tell a friend.
| The question | Reglazing in place | Acrylic liner | Full replacement |
|---|---|---|---|
| What a standard tub costs | $350 to $800 | $1,600 to $4,000 | $3,000 to $10,000 once walls and plumbing join in |
| Bathroom out of action | One day, then the cure | Weeks of lead time, then a fitting day | One to two weeks of trades |
| Demolition involved | None at all | None, but the old tub is sealed inside | Walls opened, floor patched, debris hauled |
| Honest life expectancy | Five years and up when cared for | Long, unless water creeps between the shells | Decades |
| Watch out for | Prep shortcuts by cut-rate crews | A spongy feel and hidden moisture | The budget doubling mid-project |
If your tub is cracked through, actively leaking underneath, or you simply want a different fixture, reglazing is the wrong tool, a verdict you will hear on the very first call.
Pass 1
Soap scum, silicone and old wax stripped, then the surface etched or bonded so the coating can bite.
Pass 2
Every ding ground out, filled and sanded flush. The repairs disappear under the coating instead of through it.
Pass 3
Tile, faucet, floor and glass papered off. Overspray lands on masking paper, never on grout or chrome.
Pass 4
Primer, then gloss coats laid on in thin passes until the surface reads as one poured skin.
Pass 5
The finish hardens on its own clock, 24 to 48 hours. We tape the door and leave the tub in peace.
Pass 6
Old caulk goes out with the old finish. A new mildew-resistant bead seals tub to tile on the way out.
A reglazed tub is your old tub wearing a professional coating. That is a fine thing to be, as long as everyone knows it going in.
A sprayed acrylic urethane skin, bonded to prepared porcelain, steel or fiberglass. It is smooth, glossy, warm to the touch and fully waterproof. Done properly it gives five years and more of daily service, and plenty of our tubs sail well past that with nothing but gentle cleaning.
It is not factory enamel fired onto iron at kiln temperatures, and no honest refinisher will tell you otherwise. It can be scratched by grit, dulled by harsh powders and lifted by standing water in a spot where caulk has failed. It is a durable coating, not a new tub, and it is priced like one.
Two minutes
ZIP, what the tub is made of, what bothers you about it. Said out loud it goes faster than typing, and a photo can follow later if the case is odd.
The same call
The technician who would do the work asks his questions and names a firm figure for a standard job, then confirms it in writing before any van is booked.
You set the date
One van, one technician, drop cloths from the front door to the bathroom. Water off for nothing; only the tub is out of service.
Most of that day
Damage filled and sanded, the room masked, extractor running, then the primer and gloss coats go on in thin, even passes.
24 to 48 hours
The finish hardens untouched, the new caulk bead goes in, and you run the first bath knowing exactly what was done and what to expect of it.
| What we quote | Typical range | Reading the number |
|---|---|---|
| Standard bathtub, reglazed complete | $350 - $800 | Clean, etch, repairs, sprayed gloss and fresh caulk. |
| Chip or rust repair alone | $150 - $300 | When the finish is sound and only one wound needs closing. |
| Clawfoot tub, inside and out | $700 - $1,300 | Two surfaces, more masking, and paint-grade feet if you wish. |
| Shower pan or base | $300 - $550 | Same process on the floor you stand on every morning. |
| Caulk renewal with the job | $90 - $180 | Old bead cut out, mildew-resistant line laid in. |
| Small job minimum | around $250 | The van, the materials and the cure time exist even for tiny work. |
Heavy previous coatings that must be stripped, unusual colors and badly pitted iron push a job toward the top of its bracket. The written price reaches you before the van is even loaded, and it holds.
Ventilation is not a courtesy, it is part of the job. The extractor runs from the first solvent wipe to the last sprayed pass, pulling air out the window instead of through your hallway, and the technician wears supplied air even when the household has gone out for the day. By the evening the bathroom smells like a bathroom again.
The materials are the professional two-part systems made for this trade, mixed fresh on site, never the single-can kits sold next to the paint rollers. It is the difference between a finish that cures into a hard skin and one that stays soft enough to peel at the drain within a season, and it is most of the reason our work carries a written workmanship promise against peeling and loss of adhesion.
And the schedule respects the cure. We tell you in writing when the tub goes back into service, 24 hours for most jobs and 48 for the cautious ones, because handing a family a beautiful surface and letting them ruin it that same night helps nobody. If anything in our workmanship lets go early, the technician comes back and makes it right without a discussion about whose fault the water was.
Strong while spraying, gone surprisingly fast. The extractor vents the room to the outside for the whole job, so the rest of the home stays livable, and by the next morning the odor has left with the fumes. Pregnant households and bird owners get the frank version of this talk before booking.
Between 24 and 48 hours after the final coat, and the exact time is written on the paperwork you keep. The first bath is not a gamble; it is a date.
Any color. The most common request is retiring an avocado, pink or almond tub to white, and the coating is tinted before it is sprayed, so the new color is in the material rather than painted over it.
Yes. The prep changes, the primer changes, the result reads the same. Fiberglass with soft, flexing spots gets extra reinforcement talk first, because coating a moving floor is how warranties die.
Now the old coating comes fully off, which is honest work we price plainly, and then the job proceeds as if the tub had never been touched. Peeling almost always means the first crew skipped the etch or sprayed over silicone, not that your tub rejects coatings.
Five years is the floor we are comfortable promising out loud, not the ceiling. With soft cleaners, no standing mats and caulk kept sound, these finishes routinely serve a decade. What we refuse to do is whisper twenty and hope you lose our number.
Zoom for the lay of the land; the link lists further down name every community the van reaches from here.
Somewhere under that worn surface is the tub you chose. One day brings it back.
Call (866) 951-0558