Said It Here

How to fix a botched DIY bathtub finish?

Using a cheap DIY kit often leaves the surface lumpy, yellowing, and prone to mold in crevices. This makes it difficult to smooth out without facing high repair or replacement costs from a landlord.

Overview
People affected8 accounts across 4 forums
Workarounds found14 items attempted
Community agreement15 total upvotes

What the numbers show

Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count

  • People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
  • This comes up 11.2× more often in r/HomeMaintenance than across the site as a whole.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

14 items+ Contribute

Found another way around this?

Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.

  1. 1
    Using a fiber stripper pad on an angle grinder to take it down to the metal, sanding it to blend, and reapplying a whole tub kit while ensuring proper curing time.
    Did this help you?
  2. 2
    Hiring someone through TaskRabbit.
    Did this help you?
  3. 3
    Using porcelain paint from a hardware store for a DIY touch-up
    Did this help you?
  4. 4
    Considering a full professional bathtub reglazing
    Did this help you?
  5. 5
    Considering bathtub replacement
    Did this help you?
  6. 6
    Using a sturdy hook to pull out hair and cleaning with bleach and a magic eraser.
    Did this help you?
  7. 7
    Hiring a professional plumber to avoid damaging pipes with harsh chemical cleaners.
    Did this help you?
  8. 8
    Using a fiberglass tub repair kit to match the manufacturer's color.
    Did this help you?
  9. 9
    Mixing dark and light nail polish to color-match the tub and filling the gouge.
    Did this help you?
  10. 10
    Asking the professional who caused the damage to come back and fix it.
    Did this help you?
  11. 11
    Cleaning with an abrasive like Comet to ensure residue isn't causing the dirt to stick
    Did this help you?
  12. 12
    Using an epoxy product for a temporary patch, knowing it will need periodic repatching
    Did this help you?
  13. 13
    Removing the drain flange to get epoxy completely around the hole
    Did this help you?
  14. 14
    Replacing the entire bathtub as a permanent fix
    Did this help you?
Tried another approach not listed above?+ Share your workaround ↑

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/Plumbing2 people · October 2026 – November 2026

“I just noticed this hole that had developed in my bathtub, I watched a video on how to patch it and it looked doable but it involved taping over the hole. I think this might get complicated with the hole being both on a curve and directly next to the drain. Is there a way around this, is this problem way worse than I’m thinking or is it really just as simple as ‘tape it up and put the sealant over it?’”source ↗

PopeCrispyI · r/Plumbing · 3 upvotes

“How can I go about finding it?? I have the tub info it’s Fibercare Tub/shower combo ET60-32, I’d be happy to try and fit it especially with a close match”source ↗

Coffeelovinmama · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“We had our drain replaced and it was left with this gouge in our bathtub.”source ↗

“I’m so frustrated i paid a professional and they defaced the bathtub and now I’m looking at kits to repair this.”source ↗

Coffeelovinmama · r/Plumbing
r/CleaningTips1 person · November 2026

“What product or process works best to polish a bathtub without reglazing?”source ↗

“Dirt sticks immediately even on a clean tub.”source ↗

Ok_Apricot2965 · r/CleaningTips · 2 upvotes
r/HomeMaintenance3 people · September 2026 – October 2026

“Recently bought a house and this somewhat small damage was hiding under a mat in the tub. With the corrosion below I'm having a hard time deciding what material the tub is and how best to repair it. I would appreciate any help/good thoughts on what my next steps should be.”source ↗

Dazzling_Education43 · r/HomeMaintenance · 2 upvotes

“Now I have a cluster of rusty, dotted pits down to the metal.”source ↗

“Is it absolutely necessary to do a full tub reglazing, or is there a reliable spot-repair/touch-up method for this type of damage?”source ↗

Any-Tea6511 · r/HomeMaintenance · 2 upvotes

“Coming to this tub for some wisdom on this bath tub drain. Options: \- Is this still fixable by me? Not a handy person at all \- Do I hire someone to fix? If so, how much would that run? \- If this is no longer fixable and I need to replace the whole tub, how much would that cost?”source ↗

AznN00bie · r/HomeMaintenance · 2 upvotes

“Best to replace it now you think or can I do another reglaze to get few months to years?”source ↗

Any-Tea6511 · r/HomeMaintenance · 1 upvotes
r/HomeImprovement2 people · September 2026

“As you can imagine the diy smoothing and sanding did not go great. Now it’s all lumpy, turning yellow and I think it’s getting moldy in all the little crevices. What do I do??”source ↗

idk5678123 · r/HomeImprovement · 1 upvotes

“recently had a new bathtub installed and the new caulk is already coming off in places..”source ↗

ReallyMaccin · r/HomeImprovement · 1 upvotes

Where this came up

r/CleaningTipsr/HomeImprovementr/HomeMaintenancer/Plumbingbathroombathroom fixturesbathroom maintenancebathroom repaircleaningdiydiy repairhome improvementhome maintenanceplumbingrentingrust removal

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