Bathtub Refinishing and the Final Buffing

Bathtub and shower refinishing, to use a clumsy metaphor, is like an automotive paint job... but for your bathtub. There are some parallels, in that special types of coatings are used, curing is important, surface preparation is vital, and last but certainly not least, the importance of having a true professional do the job rather than it being a DIY job.

Tub and shower refinishing can generally be completed in either one or two days. The one thing that separates the one-day job from the two-day job is the final buffing.

Surface particles account for the “buffing” question. Some refinishing companies exclude that final buffing, saying that since they already took up most care with the refinishing process, buffing is not needed. Other refinishing companies say that it is impossible to achieve a perfect finish the first time around.

Two of the biggest bathtub and shower refinishing companies in the United States are Miracle Method and Permaglaze. Each has a different approach to the question of final buffing, and their views on the matter are representative of many other refinishing companies, independents included, in the industry.

The Case for Final Buffing

CEO of Miracle Method Chuck Pistor says that the average house is not a controlled environment. Some examples of controlled environments are the factory where a bathtub received its initial dip coat, or to continue the automotive analogy, a paint shop. Houses are clouded with pet hair, human hair, detritus, lint, dust, and simply all of this other junk littering our environments. As such, miniscule particles will reside on the finish coat, making the coat something less than perfectly smooth.

Says Pistor, "If those particles are not buffed out by us, they are buffed out by the homeowner’s behind.”

• Second visit necessary for buffing due to curing considerations (though Pistor notes that Miracle Method will offer a premium one-day service at request of the homeowner).
• Home impossible to rid of particles that can contaminate coating.
• Most homeowners understand that this is a multi-day process.

The Case for Excluding the Final Buffing

CEO of Permaglaze Dale Young says that Permaglaze franchisee technicians take such extra care at preparing the bathroom in question that surface contaminants are altogether excluded, or at least vastly minimized.

Young says the goal of Permaglaze, as carried out through its franchises, is to make certain that “[the job] is done right the first time around.”

• One-day service saves homeowner’s time.
• Exclusion of buffing possible if environment kept clean enough.
• One-day service saves technician from spending time and fuel to make extra visit—savings which are passed onto homeowner.