Bathtub Repair — Chips, Cracks, Rust & Holes Fixed in a Day
Simply Reglaze repairs chipped, cracked, rusted, pitted and worn bathtubs in place — porcelain, cast iron, fiberglass and acrylic — and pairs the repair with bathtub refinishing (also called reglazing or resurfacing) so the fix disappears under one new, uniform finish. Most bathroom tub repairs are done in a single visit for a fraction of the cost of tearing the tub out.
Repaired in One Day
use it in 24 hours
Every Tub Material
steel, iron, fiberglass, acrylic
Written Warranty
on refinished surfaces
Free Estimates
from a few photos
Bathroom tub repair that lasts, not a patch that lifts
A chip or crack in a bathtub is more than cosmetic. Once the surface is broken, water gets into the material underneath: on a steel or cast iron tub the exposed metal rusts and the chip grows, and on a fiberglass or acrylic tub the crack spreads with every flex of the floor. The good news is that almost all of this damage can be repaired in place, without demolition, plumbing or a new tub.
We grind out rust and loose material, fill and level chips, cracks and holes, rebuild soft floors with a structural inlay where needed, then sand and seal the repair. Because a filled spot never matches the surrounding surface on its own, we usually follow with a full bathtub refinish over the repair in the same visit, so the entire tub comes back as one smooth, glossy surface.
If you have been searching for “bathtub repair near me” anywhere in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Francisco, Marin, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo or Santa Clara County, we already work in your area. Text us a couple of photos and we will tell you what the tub needs and what it costs.
What we repair on a bathtub
Each kind of damage has its own cause and its own fix. Here are the eight problems we see most, and which need more than a surface repair.
Chips
Dropped shampoo bottles, shower doors and tools knock chips out of porcelain enamel and gelcoat, usually on the rim, the floor near the drain and the front apron. We clean the chip to sound material, remove any rust underneath, fill it with a hard two-part filler and sand it level. Under a full refinish the chip is gone; on its own, a filled chip is always slightly visible.
Cracks: hairline vs. structural
Fine crazing and hairline stress cracks in the surface are ground out, filled and sealed. A structural crack, one that moves when you press on it or runs through a fiberglass or acrylic floor, cannot be fixed by filling: the tub will keep flexing and the filler will crack again. Those need the floor rebuilt. Read more on our cracked bathtub repair page.
Rust and pitting
Rust on a porcelain-on-steel or cast iron tub always starts where the enamel has been breached: a chip, a scratch, or the ring around the drain and overflow where water sits. We grind rust back to bright metal, treat it, and fill the pitting flush so it cannot bleed through the new coating. Surface rust is routine; rust that has eaten through the steel or is coming from beneath the tub is a replacement, and rust repair itself carries no warranty.
Holes
A small hole in a fiberglass or acrylic tub, or a rusted-through spot in a steel tub, is opened up, backed, filled and rebuilt in layers, then sanded fair and sealed. A hole in a sound fiberglass wall is straightforward; a rusted-through drain on thin steel often is not.
Soft or spongy floors
A tub floor that flexes, sinks or sounds hollow underfoot has lost the foam or mortar support beneath it. This is the leading cause of cracks in fiberglass and acrylic tubs, and no filler will hold on a floor that moves. We inject structural foam to rebuild the base, then fuse a rigid inlay panel over the floor. See bathtub inlay repair for the full process.
Scratches and a dull, rough finish
Abrasive cleaners, scouring pads and years of use wear the gloss off enamel and gelcoat, leaving a surface that feels rough and never looks clean. There is no polishing this back; the fix is a refinish that leaves it smooth, non-porous and glossy again. If your tub is more dull than damaged, start with our guide to the signs your bathtub needs reglazing.
Stains and discoloration
Yellowing, rust streaks, hard-water rings and stains that survive every cleaner live in the porous, worn surface, so no cleaner can remove them. Refinishing covers them permanently with a new coating, in bright white or a color of your choice, and the smooth new surface resists staining.
Worn non-slip texture
The factory anti-slip pattern on a tub floor wears smooth, or a DIY treatment has left it patchy. During a refinish the floor is coated with the rest of the tub, and a fresh slip-resistant treatment can be applied to the floor only. Never leave a rubber mat sitting in a refinished tub between uses: trapped water is the most common way a finish gets damaged.
Repair only, or repair plus a full refinish?
We will do either. But you should know what each one looks like when we leave.
Repair only
Spot repair, no new finish
The damage is filled, leveled, sealed and color-blended as closely as possible. The tub is solid and watertight again, but the repaired spot is a different color and sheen than the aged surface around it and shows in good light.
- Best for a rental turnover or a tub you plan to replace soon
- Stops rust and water intrusion at the damage
- Patch remains visible on close inspection
- Surrounding wear, stains and dullness stay as they are
Repair + refinish Most jobs
Repair, then reglaze the whole tub
The same repair, followed by etching, priming and spraying the entire tub with a commercial-grade coating. The repair vanishes under the new finish and every other flaw goes with it. Most repair customers choose this because the price difference is small and the tub looks new.
- Repair is invisible under a uniform, glossy finish
- Stains, dullness and minor scratches fixed at the same time
- Bright white or any color
- Written two-year limited warranty on the refinished surface
Not sure which you need? Send us photos and we will quote both options.
What bathtub repair cannot fix
Refinishing and repair work on the surface and the floor of the tub. A few problems live somewhere else, and we would rather tell you before you book than after we arrive.
If your tub is in one of these categories, our bathtub replacement cost guide explains what a new tub involves, compared with the $350–$500 refinish most tubs need instead.
- Plumbing leaks. Water from the drain, overflow gasket, trap or supply lines is a plumber's job. A surface repair will not stop it, and leaks must be fixed before we refinish so the 48-hour cure is not disturbed.
- Cracked or corroded drain shoes. The drain fitting itself, and enamel that has crumbled all the way around it into open steel, is usually beyond a lasting cosmetic repair.
- Rust from underneath. Rust coming through from the back of a steel tub, or a floor that has rusted through, means the shell is failing. That tub should be replaced.
- Structurally failed tubs. A fiberglass or acrylic tub that has broken through the floor and the walls, or has separated from the framing, is past an inlay repair.
- Someone else's failed repair. We can fix these, but a peeling DIY coating or lifted patch must be stripped first, the most common reason a surcharge applies.
How much does bathtub repair cost?
Repair pricing is built on the refinish price, with a surcharge only when the damage is heavier than a standard job.
Quotes are given in good faith from your photos. If we find damage on site that the photos did not show, the surcharge is explained and agreed before we begin, never added afterward. Oversized, jetted and clawfoot tubs are quoted individually. See the full bathtub refinishing cost guide for everything that moves the price.
How a bathtub repair works, start to finish
One technician, one visit. Here is what happens between the moment we arrive and the moment you can use the tub again.
Inspect and diagnose
We check every chip, crack and soft spot, test the floor for flex, and look at the drain and overflow for rust, then confirm what is a surface repair, what needs an inlay, and what is beyond repair.
Clean and remove loose material
The tub is deep-cleaned, then the damaged areas are ground out. Rust is taken back to bright metal, loose gelcoat and old filler are removed, and failed DIY coatings are stripped.
Rebuild and fill
Chips, cracks, pitting and holes are filled with a hard two-part compound, built up in layers where needed. Soft floors get structural foam and a fused inlay. Everything cures, then is sanded level.
Etch, prime and refinish
For a repair plus refinish, the whole tub is acid-etched and sanded so the coating bonds, then primed and sprayed with several coats of commercial-grade finish. The repair disappears under the same gloss as the rest of the tub.
Cure and hand over
The finish is ready to use in about 24 hours; inlay repairs need 24 hours before a shower and 48 before a bath. Care is simple: no abrasive cleaners, no suction-cup mats, and no wet mat left in the tub.
Repaired and refinished bathtubs
Chipped, rusted, cracked and stained tubs repaired and refinished in one visit. Tap a photo to enlarge.
Bathtub repair by material
Steel chips and rusts; fiberglass and acrylic crack and flex. Each material has its own repair page.
Porcelain-on-steel and cast iron
Rim and drain chips, the rust that follows, pitting and worn enamel. Porcelain tub repair · Porcelain refinishing · Cast iron & clawfoot
Fiberglass
Spider cracks, worn gelcoat, holes, drain-area cracks and soft floors. Fiberglass tub repair · Fiberglass refinishing
Acrylic
Wears like fiberglass: crazing, flex cracks at the floor and a dull, scratched surface. Cracked tub repair · Acrylic refinishing
Cultured marble and other surfaces
Cultured-marble tubs, shower pans and porcelain sinks are repaired the same way. Surfaces we refinish · Porcelain sink repair
Bathtub repair across Southern California and the Bay Area
Our technicians repair and refinish tubs in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and throughout San Francisco, Marin, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. No travel charge in the metro areas we serve. Check your city on our service areas page, or read what neighbors say on our reviews page.
Bathtub repair questions
Minor chips, small cracks and light rust are filled as part of every refinish, which runs $350–$500 for a standard tub. Heavier damage — multiple chips, holes, spreading rust or stripping an old coating — adds a repair surcharge of $35–$175, quoted before we start. Inlay floor repairs are quoted on inspection.
Yes, but be realistic. A repair-only job fills and levels the damage, and the patch shows as a slightly different color and sheen. Most customers pair the repair with a full refinish so the whole tub is one uniform, glossy surface and the repair disappears.
Most repairs, including a full refinish, are finished in a single visit. The tub is ready to use about 24 hours after refinishing. Inlay floor repairs need about 24 hours before showering and 48 hours before a bath.
Usually. Hairline crazing and small stress cracks are ground out, filled and sealed before refinishing. A cracked fiberglass or acrylic floor that flexes needs a structural inlay rather than a surface fill, which we also do in place. A tub that has broken through or is rusting from underneath is a replacement, not a repair.
Yes. Rust at the drain, overflow and chips is ground back to sound metal, treated and filled flush before the new coating goes on. Rust that has eaten through the steel or is coming from beneath the tub cannot be fixed with refinishing, and rust repair is performed on a best-effort basis without warranty.
Refinished bathtubs carry our written two-year limited warranty against peeling, blistering and coating separation caused by workmanship. New chips from dropped objects and rust that returns are not workmanship defects and are excluded, as on every refinished surface.
Porcelain-on-steel, enameled cast iron, fiberglass, acrylic and cultured marble. Steel chips and rusts; fiberglass and acrylic crack and flex. Each has its own repair method, covered on our material-specific repair pages.
You can, but hardware-store fillers and touch-up paints rarely match the color, do not bond to a glossy surface without etching and usually lift within months. A failed kit then has to be stripped before the tub can be done properly, which is what the $35–$175 surcharge covers.
Across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Francisco, Marin, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, with no travel charge inside those metro areas.
Have a chipped, cracked or rusted tub?
Text us two or three photos for a free, no-obligation repair quote. Most tubs are repaired and refinished in a single day.
Related repair & refinishing services
Cracked Bathtub Repair
Hairline, stress and through-cracks.
Fiberglass Tub Repair
Spider cracks, soft floors, gelcoat.
Porcelain Tub Repair
Chips and rust on steel and cast iron.
Bathtub Inlay Repair
Permanent fix for flexing, cracked floors.
Porcelain Sink Repair
Chips and rust on bathroom sinks.
Slip-Resistant Treatment
Safer footing on a refinished floor.
All refinishing services · Surfaces we refinish · Customer reviews
Ready to repair your bathtub?
Chips, cracks, rust and soft floors fixed in place, then refinished so you would never know. Send photos for a free estimate.
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