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When we bought our house I wasn't really aware of our the condition of our tubs. They look like the previous owner over scrubbed them with heavy duty abrasives and really scratched the surface because it's not dirt. They look horrendous.
We're hoping to put the house on the market in a couple years and wonder if we should hope new buyers were as blind as we were or should we have them professionally refinished? Refinishing them ourselves is out of the question. I have asthma and won't work with the nasty chemicals and hubby isn't handy at all. Not to mention I've searched past threads here on C-D and DIY re-finishing doesn't last long.
I think replacing the tubs is out because of cost to have them installed.
Thoughts? I suppose I could just buy extra long bath safety mats and put them down on the bottom of the tub to cover it, but that seems deceitful.
Definitely refinish. Just make sure you chose a high quality company to do the job. You can start by looking on Yelp. If not, it could end up looking worse than it started in a few months. You could also install a liner, though I think it's more expensive and it's riskier if it fails (water seeping between the original tub and liner). Refinish has less risk and looks just as nice.
I think home remedies are not efficient here, you have to change tubs body or can call walk in tub Tigard experts for inspection, as they have expertise in this field. You can also search for experts over the web according to your locality.
If you got nothing to lose, try buffing it. If you go into the automotive store you are going to find different grits of polishing compound. To be safe find the highest or least abrasive grit they have. Keep in mind for grits the higher number is less abrasive.Try hand rubbing small area for a few minutes, if you get good results look into getting some polishing pads for drill... If it doesn't work you can use it on other things that are scratched.
Porcelain is kind of like glass which can be polished so it should work, if it's acrylic it should work there also. Word of warning especially for the acrylic, you need to be careful you don't rub off the finish.
The OP really has not given enough details to recommend a solution. The decision to attempt to merely buff /polish the tubs vs reglazing or liner or replacement involves knowing what material the tubs are made of, how deep the damage is, what sort of budget one has, and the overall value of the home as-is...
When folks over-scrub their tubs that can wear off some of the glaze on porcelain tubs or damage the "gloss coat" on acrylic tubs. Depending on how deep the damage is it might be polish to use automotive type products to smooth out the surface and ever restore some of the shine. That is cheap and generally something that experience handyperson or even skilled "cleaning and restoration" crews that work for apartment owners can do for a modest fee.
If you call a company that specializes in damaged tubs they can give a fair estimate of how much it would cost to "reglaze" the tub which is their term for layering on special kind of catalyzed epoxy type treatment. It goes on like industrial paint and can provide good results. If the tub has more damage than the reglazing will fix an honest firm will suggest using a liner or replacing the tub. Unfortunately even the best liners often end up looking /sounding kind of terrible because they are just a thin overlay.
Replacing the tub is a costly and involved effort in most homes -- even with a very skilled installer it often means breaking the old tub into pieces and likely re-tiling at least some of the bathroom.
If an honest third party says "compared to other homes that buyers will be cross shopping your tubs are not a negative" I would not waste time on any of these projects. Many buyers like to get a good deal on a home and then renovate to suit their individual needs. OTOH if an experienced local real estate agent says that your home will not compare well to others that would be competing for likely buyers you should prioritize where you spend your time and money. Each home has different "red flags" and if the rest of your home does compare favorably perhaps it makes sense to address the situation with the tub...
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