Just to touch a bit more on the last post, the top six reasons coatings fail is:
1. Inadequate preparation – the surface wasn’t etched or cleaned properly. Etching is often necessary on porcelain tubs to rough up the surface so the new coatings stick.
2. Poor quality products – In some situations, etching isn’t necessary, and instead an chemical bond can be created with an adhesive wipe on primer. MANY of these primers are poor quality and will fail.
3. No primer used at all. This is just amazing to me. We’ve encountered a bunch of tubs that didn’t have any primer used in the refinishing process. The coatings just flake off after a couple years.
4. Standing water or poor drainage. During our inspection, we check drainage. Some tubs amazingly are designed so there is a low spot just in front of the drain that causes water to sit. No matter how good the refinish is, eventually the standing water will cause the coating to fail. We can fix drainage problems using special waterproof filler.
5. Too thick a coat. Many refinishers put too many coats, or spray too thick a coat. This can cause cracking, and failure of the coating.
6. Tile showers. We don’t usually recommend refinishing tile shower bottoms. Water rarely drains correctly, and grout lines cause standing water. For customers who really want this work done, we recommend wiping standing water off the tile floor after use.
At Oahu Tub Experts, we understand all the reasons why coatings can fail and take steps to minimize this from happening before, during and after the refinishing process.
