Resurfacing the shower

First off, I don't have any before & after photos because I couldn't get a decent photo of the shower in our small bathroom.

As part of our downstairs bathroom re-do, I decided to change the good ol' 70's gold shower over to white. After pondering the options, I decided to cheap out and resurface the shower myself, using Klenk's Tub & Surround Refinishing Kit, which I picked up at Home Depot.

Our shower is a 32" wide 3-wall shower, the type one finds in a second bathroom. Small. Anyhow, the kit directions says there is enough there to do one tub or shower, so great, let's do this. I spend $34 and away we go. I start by cleaning the shower walls as directed, then I sand the walls. If you have ever sanded fiberglass before, you know it isn't fun. Anyhow, I get it all clean, and it's time to start mixing paint. Well, not quite. You see, the kit uses a two-part system, where you mix one can into another and wait an hour, which I do.

Okay, an hour has passed, let's paint. Using the included roller and following the directions, I start to roll the paint on the shower. And the results are a nightmare. The foam roller they give you doesn't roll, it just sort of skids along, smearing paint as it goes. There is a trick to this, as I would find later on.

Anyhow, the directions say you apply a coat, wait an hour, apply another coat, and so on. It says it might take up to three coats to cover a dark colored tub. Let me tell you what: First off, the can has enough paint to do a tub made for Barbie, not a tub made for humans. It didn't take one kit and three coats, it took three kits, a week's time, sanding out a load of sags and runs which I never did fully remove, and probably nine coats to get the tub a nice glossy white. But white it is, indeed. The finish appears to be very solid, like enamelware. One interesting difference is that the new finish has a sort of orange-peel texture, which for a shower is actually preferable to a slippery-smooth gloss. There are still a few runs in the final job, and it certainly doesn't pretend to look like a brand new tub, but looking at $125 versus the cost of replacing the whole shower, I think I'm happy with it. Only time will tell.

Oh yeah, I said I'd explain the trick of putting this stuff on. The directions say put on a thin coat. That ain't the half of it. They mean barely get the roller wet. I found using a big paint tray worked best. Keep the paint tray mostly dry, and roll the roller in there just enough to get it damp. As you roll out the paint, it will have an almost tacky feel as it goes on. That's the trick. The first time around, I had too much paint in the roller, and it skidded around instead of going on nicely. With each new coat of paint, the paint adheres better. Oh, yeah, buy extra foam roller pads at the store, too. The kit only comes with one roller, but you'll need more. The paintbrush in the kit is pretty handy for painting the soap dish, which is hopeless to try to roll out. Oh, and note, the paint has a positively evil smell. I suggest wearing a respirator and get a lot of ventilation going. Would I do this again? Well, maybe. I'll see how the finish holds.