How to Remove Paint from Porcelain Tub – Detailed Manual
You’ve been renovating your bathroom and now you don’t know how to remove paint from porcelain tub. Not to worry, now you will learn some really working and effective methods of removing paint from the porcelain tub without damaging it.
As a rule, removing paint from any surface is not an easy task, and from the new porcelain tub to clean the paint without damage seems to be impossible at all. But we have found for you the best solutions to this problem.
After reading this article, you will be able to find and choose for yourself the best way and method to remove paint from the bathtub, so keep reading and you will learn everything.
There are many ways to remove paint, and the best known is with paint thinner. But we must not forget that strong chemicals can damage the coating of the bathtub. Therefore, you are provided with several ways to do it without harsh chemicals.
It is clearly better to clean the old bathtub than to buy and install a new one. It will also save you quite a bit of money.
Types of Bathtubs
- Acrylic bathtubs
- Porcelain bathtub
- Cast iron bathtub
- Fiberglass bathtub
- Metal bathtub
Does the difficulty of removing paint depend on the material from which the bathtub is actually made?
Definitely yes, the above are the types of bathtubs, and then we will look at ways to remove paint from each of these bathtubs.
What is the Easiest Surface to Remove Paint From
As a rule, any paint is difficult to remove from any surface, especially if it is already dried. Therefore, try to remove fresh paint as soon as it hits the surface of the tub.
Paint can be removed with dry wipes or a cloth. They will absorb a maximum of the paint, and, to remove it completely most often use something that is always on hand, namely vinegar and baking soda.
The easiest way is to remove paint from metal or cast iron bathtubs because they are not easily damaged and not scratched. That said, it’s best not to use solvents and chemicals to clean the paint off the tub.
Despite this, you can also wipe the paint off acrylic and fiberglass bathtubs, but you need to be especially careful because you can severely damage and scratch the coating.
Is it Possible to Remove the Paint with a Metal Knife
In principle, you can scrape dried, or slightly softened paint with a non-sharp metal putty knife. Attention: you need to do it very carefully so as not to leave scratches on your bathtub.
How to Remove Paint from Porcelain Tub
Since porcelain tubs are very resistant to scratches and any damage, you can remove the paint with a blade or scraper.
Removing paint from a porcelain tub is easy enough, but there are a few important nuances. Well, first of all, you need to consider what kind of paint you are going to remove.
Just gently scrape the paint off the surface of the tub and you won’t need to resort to painting thinners and cleaners.
Methods to Remove Paint from a Porcelain tub
- Firstly, you can remove the paint with a blade or plastic putty knife, just be careful not to hurt yourself or damage the tub.
- Second, try using a plastic scraper to remove the paint from the tub. Do it in short, slow strokes so as not to scratch the coating.
- Also, you can remove paint from a porcelain tub with a special paint thinner, acetone, or lacquer thinner. But this will only work if your tub has water-based paint. If not, then you have to scrape it off with a plastic putty knife. But how do you know what type of paint you have? Read on.
How to Figure out What Type of Paint you Have
Determining the type of paint is not difficult in principle. All you need is a cloth or cotton swab and some rubbing alcohol.
And so, you need to wet the cloth or cotton swab with alcohol and rub the paint stain on the tub. If the stain rubs and the paint remains on the napkin, then you have water-based paint.
And if the paint stain won’t rub off at all and won’t stay on the cloth, then you have latex paint or oil based paint.
Now that you have decided on the type of paint you can begin to remove it.
How to Delete Oil Paint from a Porcelain Tub
You can read the sequence of steps when removing paint with a paint stripper.
To remove oil paint, you may need a paint stripper. By the way, it can be used not only for oil paint but also for other types of paint.
Remove paint with a paint stripper:
- The first thing to do is to wear rubber gloves to protect the skin on your hands. Also, rubber gloves will help avoid burns.
- Next, apply a small amount with a soft sponge of the paint stripper to the stubborn paint stains and wait 10 to 15 minutes for the product to work.
- Then take a blade to scrape the swollen and soaked paint off the porcelain tub.
- Note: If the paint doesn’t swell after a while, apply more product to it and wait, then repeat step 3 and scrape off the paint stains with the plastic paint scraper.
- After all the steps you have done, be sure to ventilate the room and wash the bathroom with water to remove any residual paint remover.
Is it Difficult to Remove Paint from an Acrylic Bathtub
It is possible to remove paint from an acrylic bathtub, the only question is how to do it. Since acrylic bathtubs are very susceptible to damage and scratches, using a paint scraper or a blade is not the best solution for this type of bathtub.
Also, it is better not to use aggressive chemicals or harsh detergents to avoid damage to the surface and coating of the tub.
You can remove paint with a homemade remedy. The ingredients that are needed for this: are about 200 milliliters of vinegar,
, liquid laundry detergent, and a soft sponge and dish soap.
How to Prepare this Mixture
To prepare this mixture, it is better to take a bottle with a sprayer, so it will be much more convenient to apply.
Advice: as soon as you notice paint stains on your bathtub, it is better to immediately begin to remove them as much as possible with wipes, later it will be easier to remove difficult stains.
Even better would be if you pour hot water into the tub with acrylic surfaces so that the paint stains are completely covered and leave it until it cools down.
After this procedure, apply the mixture prepared in advance to the stains and leave it for a while. Then rinse it all off with hot water and you’re done.
How to Remove Fiberglass Bathtub Epoxy Paint
Since epoxy paint is very strong and durable as a bathtub coating, it can delaminate or peel off the surface of the tub.
For example, you should not use acetone or aggressive chemicals, because they can damage the surface of the tub. It is better to take a light and mild solution to remove epoxy paint.
Essentially, the process itself of removing epoxy paint and restoring the bathtub to its original appearance is not difficult, but there are some things to keep in mind.
How to Prepare a Paste to Remove Paint with Your Own Hands
You can even make this solution yourself. You will need vinegar and baking soda and for application, you can take a lightly abrasive sponge.
From these ingredients you need to prepare a paint removal paste, simply mix them until homogeneous, and then apply it to the painted area on your fiberglass tub and wait.
Once softened, the paint will remove easily. You can repeat the procedure if necessary.
Then you rinse it all out with warm water and soap and wipe with paper towels and that’s it – the paint is removed from your bathtub without damage.
Special Paint Removers
Why can’t you just use a special paint remover or solvent? No one says you can’t, you can, but first, it’s bad for your health and you can get burns. And secondly, the product can damage the bathtub.
In fact, solvents are invented in order to remove paint, but after all, you can do it much safer and cheaper. After all, you need to go to the store for the solution, and you can prepare a vinegar paste in a couple of minutes right at home.
How to Remove Paint from a Cast Iron Tub
You have a cast iron bathtub at home and its paint began to fray, and the coating looks ugly – no problem. We will tell you how to get rid of this problem.
Before you start, you need to clean the tub with warm soapy water. Just wash it. Then use a sponge to rub the paint stains.
The advantage of a cast iron tub is that it has strong strength, unlike other types of bathtubs. Accordingly, it can be rubbed harder and the old paint can be removed with a sander.
Once the paint is completely removed from the tub’s surface, you can apply fresh paint to the surface. Your cast iron bathtub is now as good as new again.
Is it Easy to Remove Paint from a Metal Bathtub
Is it easy to remove paint from a metal tub? Yes, at least easier than acrylic tubs.
But despite that, it can still get damaged if you use an eraser or hard abrasive rags.
How to Clean Paint from a Metal Bath
Before you start removing, you need to wash and clean the tub well, and then you can take oil and apply a small amount to the paint stains. This way you will be able to soften the paint a little bit.
With a scraper, after softening, try to carefully remove the paint from the surface. The more paint you scrape off, the better.
After you need to take rubbing alcohol and apply it to the remaining stains. You can put a piece of cloth soaked in alcohol on the paint stain and wait a couple of minutes.
After that, the paint will definitely be removed from your bathtub, and yet this method can also be used to clean the faucet and sink from the paint.
Only here before you start all the manipulations and paint removal process you need to decide what kind of paint you have. It can be latex paint, oil based paint, or the other. So it will be easier to find a way to clean it.
How to Use Baking Soda and Vinegar Paste
To prepare the paste, you need to take the two ingredients and mix them so that you get a mushy consistency, which will be easy to apply to the surface of the bath. Such a composition will easily soften the paint so that it is easier to scrape it off.
After softening, you can rub the paste to act as a scrub and exfoliate the remaining paint. Such a mixture will not harm you or your bathtub coating.
But here’s a tip, it is better to do it while ventilating the bathroom because vinegar does not smell very nice and its vapors are harmful to health.
Video: How to Remove Paint from Porcelain Tub
In this video, you can see how to clean a dirty old porcelain bathtub.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be said that, as you may have already understood, the paint from the surface of the bathtub can be removed and this process is not very long and complicated. You just need to know a few nuances.
Before you start to remove traces of paint on the bathtub, you should first decide on the type of paint and also take into account the type of your bathtub, because these two moments are very important and influence the way to solve the problem.
We sincerely hope that you were able to find for yourself the best way to remove paint and were able to do it. Most importantly, don’t worry, your bathtub will be as good as new. Here is how to clean shower tiles without scrubbing.
