Learn how to paint a bathtub easily and inexpensively with these tips. This is an inexpensive way to give your bathroom a facelift without having to replace your bathtub!
Our budget bathroom makeover in our flip house was one of the final projects we did before it was finished. The bathroom had been put on the back burner because we were dreading getting rid of our the bathtub. But then we realized we didn’t have to get rid of it — we could PAINT it and refinish the bathtub!
Can you paint a bathtub?
Yes! You can paint a bathtub.
You don’t have to spend tons of money to update your bathroom by buying a new bathtub. It can be easily updated with a few tools and some easy steps!
Let’s start off with a before photo of our flip house bathroom.
I don’t even remember this bathroom! It was bad. We knew we had a lot of work in here and I was most excited about this transformation.
I had a plan for the bathroom right away, but we were going back and forth about the bathtub. I knew the yellow tub had to go, but it was the original cast iron tub that was going to be a beast to get out and there was nothing wrong with it.
You don’t have to remove a bathtub from your bathroom – just paint it!
As we worked on the rest of the house, the bathroom got demoed around the bathtub. After more conversations and a better idea where we were on our budget, we decided to paint the bathtub.
We had nothing to lose. If it didn’t turn out, we could take out the tub and say goodbye to our intended budget. My dad had painted bathtubs in his flip houses so we had to give it a try.
Affiliate links are used in this How To Paint A Bathtub post. You can read my disclosure HERE.
Materials and Tools to Paint a Bathtub
- Rustoleum Tub & Tile Refinishing Kit
- Comet Cleaner and Scour Pads
- Lime Cleaner
- 400 Grit Sandpaper
- Painter’s Tape
- Paint Roller
- Paint Brush
- Plastic to protect walls and/or floors
- Mask and Gloves
How to Prepare a Bathtub for Painting:
- Scrub the bathtub with Comet Cleaner and Scour Pads.
- Use Lime Cleaner to remove any lime or calcium buildup or stains.
- Allow the bathtub to dry, then go over it entirely with 400 Grit Sandpaper.
- Remove all sanding dust from the bathtub with a damp cloth or a tack cloth. You want to make sure there is no debris on the bathtub at all before you paint.
- Gather the painting supplies.
How To Paint A Bathtub:
- Make sure your bathroom is well ventilated before beginning! Open windows or use fans to be sure air is flowing before you begin painting. Use gloves and wear a mask.
- Follow the instructions on your refinishing kit to prep paint. The Rustoleum Tub & Tile Refinishing Kit says to mix the two cans of paint together.
- Tape around your bathtub using Painter’s Tape and plastic, if needed to protect walls, floors, etc.
- Use a good paintbrush or small roller to paint the bathtub. Some paintbrushes can leave brush strokes in the paint. To ensure there aren’t any brush strokes, use a small paint roller. We found that the paint roller would drip more than a brush. I would recommend you have both on hand so you can use them both and see which one feels the best and which one you can control the paint best.
- Let the first coat of paint dry for about an hour. Then repeat with the second coat of paint.
- When the second coat of paint dries, you can decide if you want another coat. We have used this technique on a couple of bathtubs in flip houses. One of the bathtubs was covered in two coats and another one took a third coat. I say the more coats the better. I would recommend that you use all the paint you mixed for sure. If you want to make it extra durable, get a second kit and put on more coats. If you can see the original bathtub paint through the paint, you need more coats.
When you think about the option of removing an old bathtub or painting a bathtub, painting is so much easier and cost-effective. Refinishing our bathtub cost under $50 and the process took just under 3 hours. The bathtub looked brand new after a few coats of paint!
Tips for painting a bathtub:
- Make sure your bathroom is well ventilated. Wear a mask and use gloves while painting.
- You can use either a paint roller, paint brush or paint sprayer for painting a bathtub. We found that a paint brush gave us the most control and didn’t drip like the paint roller did.
- The bathtub paint is a lot thinner than most paints. Work in smaller areas at a time and be patient. You have to work slower than you would painting a wall.
- If the paint runs, smooth it out as soon as you can because it seems to dry faster than normal paint.
- As soon as you get all the coats of paint on the bathtub, let it sit over night to dry fully.
- We weren’t showering in the flip houses so we let them sit for a few days before we put water in them. I would recommend at least 24-48 hours before running water in the tub. That way, you can be sure the paint is dry.
- Once the paint is dry, it is ready for normal use.
Not only did the bathtub look fantastic, but the smell was non-existent! It was gone. Didn’t this budget-friendly bathroom remodel turn out fantastic? I am so excited about it!
This bathroom didn’t have it, but another flip house bathroom had outdated tile all around the shower. We didn’t have the budget to replace it all so we painted the tile and it looked fantastic! Learn how to paint tile the easy way.
I can’t tell you how happy I was about this and how excited I was to write this post. This will save you time, money and effort to update your bathroom by refinishing and painting a bathtub to give your bathroom a budget friendly remodel! Check out the entire flip house remodel, too.
FAQ’s I get most about this project:
- Can you do this on a claw foot tub?
We have not tried this on a claw foot tub, but I don’t see why not.
- Can you use this on a tub surround?
NO! This product is not made for tub surrounds.
- Can you use this on a sink?
We have not had to do that, but yes! I have seen other people use it on sinks.
- How many kits do you need?
We like to put a couple of coats on the bathtub. With one kit, we can get one coat on the bathtub and the tile around the tub is there is some we are painting. We usually get two kits for sure to get enough coats to cover them well.
- What do you do with grout lines for painting tile?
We paint over the tile and the grout lines. The paint covers it well.
- Does the paint peel or chip?
We make sure to put a few coats of paint on the tub and tile and it doesn’t peel or chip. You don’t want to use abrasive cleaners after it is done, but it holds up well.
- Does the water temperature affect the paint work?
No.
Do you have a bathtub you would like to change? After this post, would you try to paint a bathtub? This is one of my favorite DIY Home Projects Anyone Can Do!
Supply Recap For How To Paint A Bathtub:
400 Grit Sandpaper
Lime Cleaner
Comet Cleaner
Mask (A REALLY GOOD ONE!)
Good Gloves
Painter’s Tape
Scour Pads
Paint Brush, Roller, Paint Sprayer
Rustoleum Tub & Tile Refinishing Kit
VENTILATION!!!
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Oh my….THANK YOU, we bought a foreclosure 9 years ago and the tub in main bathroom, while white, is in bad shape. It was refinished, badly….sometime in the past. The finish is scratched and has dingy spots on it. We’ve tried to clean it, but the spots come back. I hated to spend a ton of money having someone else redo it. This is going on my project list!
YAY! Hope you are as pleased as we are!
Is one kit enough to do a whole tub. Phyllis
yes it was for us. You could always do a few coats though.
If you put 2 coats on and still need another coat do you resend and use a tack cloth or just repaint it wit another kit
Paint with another kit
Hi Linda,
Thank you for this article, Im eager to use it!
Any recommendations for removing/restoring bath fitters? It looks like you’ve removed the bath fitter as well. I have an ole bath fitter and i’m stuck with how to update the space.
Thanks!
Amber
Hello! My name is Lindsay. You can usually buy replacements for the drain if that is what you are asking about. We hire plumbers to do that.
What did you do to the window, wood trim will get ruined from the shower?
We put a surround in the tub and there is trim that comes with the surround for around the windows. There is also waterproof trim that is made more of like PVC that looks like wood to go in there. That won’t rot either. You can also tile around the window. Many options! 🙂
When I pour bleach around my old nasty caulk my tub get stains bleach does not clean. PEROXIDE takes away my stains nothing else does!
Thanks for the tip!
Lindsay, We had our tub painted by a professional about 7 yrs ago and it’s held up really well but is not as bright as it was. My question is does this method you used work on fiberglass tubs. Thanks, Phyllis
I would think so. I would tell you to read the back of the box to make sure.
How did you fill the dings and chips in original photo? Does kit provide for that?
The paint filled them in nicely.
We have an old cast iron tub in our only bathroom, and I’ve wanted it GONE since before we moved in ten years ago! I have one question: did the brush leave stroke-marks, or is the finish smooth? I’ve seen tubs that were painted, and you could tell! But that was a long time ago, and I’m hoping products are better now. TIA!!!
It didn’t leave marks. It was smooth. The main thing you have to watch is the drip marks because the paint is so thin.
a pnt of muriatic acid accidentally poured in the bathtub …it heavily damaged the porceline..while we vacated our house for six months. …the rust is eating the finishing deeply…will your “solution” following it closely repair my bathtub to appear as new?
Your tub work is amazing! What a great transformation of a solid piece, that you just don’t get in newer houses today. (We have the standard fiberglass, tub/shower surround all in one.) I can’t wait to click on your other bathroom projects. I was excited to learn you are from Cedar Rapids. I am originally from Waterloo, and have lived in Pennsylvania for over 30 years. It is great fun to read your blog. Thanks for sharing.
Great job!!!!! Would love to see the finished bathroom makeover. Bet it will be beautiful.
I will share soon!
This is great we have an old tub that no one wants to take out so we a\will try this. Hope ours come out as great as yours. Thanks for sharing.
Your welcome! Good luck!
Did one quart cover the entire tub? Or did you need to buy more than one kit?
Just bought one kit.
Wow looks great! We moved our 1920’s Cape and bathroom needs another redo. How do you clean the tub once finished? Does the paint scratch? Also, I surmised you put a liner in tub first before the tile job. Wondering why tile wasn’t done first? Kudos to you and hubby
There is no tile in the tub. It is just a surround??? I have heard that Scrubbing Bubbles is the best cleaner for the painted tub.
How well does this hold up under use. Does it chip or scratch easily?
I have heard it is great!
a great improvement!!
Looks so good! Could you use sponge brushes? I want to do my tub, exactly like you did this one, but I am so afraid it will have brush marks and look awful. My tub is in my main bath. Also, I will have to take shower doors off….not an easy task. Do you caulk around the tub when you are finished painting? How long do you have to wait before putting the shower doors back up?
We took the doors off and put up a curtain. I will share a full tour hopefully this Friday. We put in a new tub surround and did caulk. There aren’t brush strokes.
I would use pretty shower curtain anyway rather than doors for looks. When I had door’s I still used pretty curtains, I have old house yuck
Wow this looks great, it doesn’t even look like the same tub. Years ago in a house we rented there was a chip so gigantic it looked like someone dropped a bowling ball. The landlord had a professional guy come in and while it looked good you could see the patch. This is a much better option and I bet a huge savings over hiring someone to do it for you.
Yes it was! Thank you so much!
My parents have an old porcelain tub in their home which has been painted before. Unfortunately, over the 20 yrs since it was painted, it has peeled in some areas. Fortunately, the paint used back then isn’t what it is today! I’m going to try to do this project – thanks to you! Wondering if we will need to sand off all the old paint. Any thoughts on that?
I might try and sand it where it is peeling just to make the surface smooth. You do have to sand before you paint anyway, so I would definitely sand those areas.
Oops! I meant to say, “fortunately, the paint today is much better than the paint was 20+ yrs ago!”
Yes, it is!
___123___How To Paint A Bathtub Easily & Inexpensively! – My Creative Days___123___
This weekend i am going to do this project because lets be honest an old 1980 yellow bath tub is not eye candy to say the least.
i just had a couple questions about the sanding portion. Did you buy and electric sander or did you just sand it by hand? Also how long did it take for this project?
We used our orbital sander. It was an entire afternoon project. Good luck!!!
Can you use this product to paint a toilet?
I am not sure about that??? Check the back of the box.
i painted my tub last year and 1 kit did not cover! It is peeling up all over and i was wondering if i just sanded down the tub can i apply right over again?? Would love your thoughts
You know, I would definitely try it! We have done a few coats on different things, it just depends, but I would sand and then maybe get two kits and use them both on it.
Do you have to repaint the entire tub? I have just a few areas where the tub is worn through but the rest of the tub is still nice. Could I just sand those areas and paint them only, without painting the entire tub?? Or would the newly painted areas look too different from the original area of the tub?
I would paint the entire tub because I think it would look spotty if not.
White is the only color? Also your talking about the bathtub refinishing kit only right ? Ran about $50 for the kit right? Few years ago I used a kit Like that but it was 2 spray cans …..is this new ?
I don’t know how new the product is. It isn’t $50. It is around $25 for one kit. I have only found it in white. It is so amazing! We have used it on a few flip projects now.
How did this refinish hold up? You said it’s a flip house.. just wondering if it holds up to regular use. I’ve seen some bathtubs that were refinished in rentals and they were beyond gross where the paint began to chip and the mildew took hold. Anybody have long term experience with this?
It has held up well so far!
Wow!! How great is that! Our tub is brown This would be fabulous. I have two kiddos… how does it hold up?
It holds up so well!! We added a couple of coats to make sure it did.
I need help please we bought a home an we have been doing every single thing well i had to go do something one day an my husband was going to go do some work at the new house well he was stripping all the floors and put primer on the floors just to make sure they were all prepared for whatever we decided we were going to do with the floors I was not there so he decided to rinse all the materials out in the tub I am so mad now because all the sticky primer stripper and paint he used that day is now everywhere In the tub an I dont know what to do I’ve tried everything to get it out and nothing is working what can I do please help me save this tub were on a budget an our budget is almost nonexistent at this point I can not afford to replace a tub at this time please help me u can email me any ideas anyone has
Hmmmmm. I would google different ways to get that sticky stuff up. I don’t think the tub paint will go well over that. I would do whatever it takes to get the stuff up and then you can paint over what is left with the tub paint. I am sorry I am not more help. I haven’t had to deal with that so I am not sure. Check YouTube too. We find so much help there!
We did our counter tops with the roller about 15 years ago and they still look great (tubby USA brand) We just did the bathtub/shower combo with Rust-Oleum tub and tile. We used the spray witch I will NEVER do again. The fumes were horrible, we spend over $200 trying to get it covered (total of 4 kits (8 cans), and it still has hi/lol spots. Not to mention the white paint dust covered EVERYTHING in the bathroom. I really wish I would have done the roll on coverage. Worked so much better and would have been cheaper.
I didn’t even know they had a spray version. This is good to know. Thank you for sharing!!!
Looks great!
Thanks!
so what if we want our tub to be pink and but we can find any paint thats pink and works for bathtubs?
sorry for my English, still learning.
I haven’t found the paint in any color yet. Sorry.
It does come in 3 colors; white, almond, and biscuit. I have a kit just waiting to get everything i need for my whole bathroom update before i start doing anything that way it gets done and not pushed aside!
Thank you so much!! I’m so excited to try this! We also need to do the caulking again, in addition to painting the tub. Would you recommend painting or redoing the caulking first? Again, thank you fo such clear directions! Looking forward to this project!!
Your welcome. Paint first so then you can get a clean and fresh finish with the caulk afterwards.
Hey Lindsay, what a wonderful DIY project it was. I will surely paint my bath tub by next week. Special thanks for your step by step guide and obviously those images.
Your welcome! It is amazing! We have done it a few times now in our flip houses.
Good Job! Thanks for the tips you gave! I too had one of those 60’s colored tubs, mine was the pink! Yikes…
The tub was still in great condition so I decided to also paint it. I researched the epoxy paints because I had heard that was the only way to go. I however, used Klass Kote Bathtub Epoxy because they were able to make a custom color for me which I wanted. (http://www.klasskote.com/epoxy_bathtub_paint) The process was pretty much the same with a few minor exceptions. Results were great! It was such fun…really! Thanks for sharing the possibilities to other brave souls.
Thanks for sharing! It works so well that we have done it in other flip houses. We just wanted to white so it made it easy.
I love the finished bathroom!! It’s set up exactly like our, so I’m very excited to be able to make some of these changes to ours! The sleek tub surround and window trim is exactly what I’ve been looking for. Could you share where you got it?
We got the surround at Menards and the window trim is something you have to order separate. I am glad this post helped! Good luck with your makeover! It will be amazing!
Very useful tips. Thanks for sharing! Easy and most of all pocket-friendly. 🙂
yes!
very informative. thanks
It is very friendly and helpful tips. Thank you for sharing this post.
Thank you!
Something to beawareof when contemplating “refinishing or replacement?
Painting would be the route to go on a flip, or resell. They always look amazing freshy done and once sold, wear is not your problem. Besides Even with the best refinishing job & improved paints it’s still just “paint” water is the most corrosive element there is, add to that dirt and grime (think -sand paper wear over time) then say perhaps something hard is dropped ? or say there’s a need to replace the tub shoe (drain) which was painted up to with the paint being the only seal? with that seal disturbed moisture gets beneath the paint with bubbling and peeling sure to follow further shortening its short lifespan. when installing a tub surround you’ve already went into the wall (something that “just painting” was supposed to save? The only cost in replacing would the 1. New Tub, 2. setting it and connecting the drain. diy or hire out just “that part” out. and you’re pretty much set for life!
(removing a cast Iron tub? throw a blanket over it and sledge hammer it into then carry it out- The new tub material can be but does not have to be cast Iron. There are some nice and much lighter composite material tubs available Including Acrylic, fiberglass, And Enameled Pressed Steel on the cheaper end. which you can shop for and have delivered.
I have a regular tub that is in pretty good shape except for an irregular shaped silver dollar sized “hole” in the paint. Can I just use this paint to fill in the hole without repainting the whole tub?
TIA
Pam
I have never just filled a hole with the paint, so I am not sure.
We have a cement shower pan. Can this process be used on cement? Thanks
I think you would need cement paint instead??? Ask your local home improvement store.
Hi Lindsey,
I love how this bathtub renovation turned out. Before you painted the bathtub did you have to fill any holes that were left in the bathtub after removing the shower?
Thanks,
Tanya
We didn’t have to fill any holes. We never removed the shower stall.
It’s nice to know that there are ways to repaint a bathtub without having to deal too much with paint smells. I’m considering to get a bathtub replacement soon because my current one has been showing sign that it might have cracks soon if I’m not careful with it. Getting to paint the new one however I like would make any upcoming bathroom remodel a lot easier.
We’ve been going a little project crazy over here at the Hursley house. From updating our front door to having our wood floor refinished, I barely even recognize our place anymore and I love it! Looks like we just found our next project and I can’t wait to get to work painting that bathtub. Thank you so much for sharing.
Love all the projects! Your welcome!
Hi Lindsay:
Excellent article. Bathroom renovation is not for the faint at heart. There is a lot of work involved.
You did a great job.
All the best and good luck on any future projects
It does come in 3 colors; white, almond, and biscuit. I have a kit just waiting to get everything i need for my whole bathroom update before i start doing anything that way it gets done and not pushed aside!
Excellent article! Painting an old standalone or corner bathtub serves as an affordable way to renew this item. Surprisingly, this task does not require much effort as it involves covering the cracks, sanding the tub, and adding paint.