Porcelain Tub Repair — Chips & Rust Fixed in a Day
A chip in a porcelain tub exposes bare steel, and bare steel rusts. Simply Reglaze repairs chips, rust and pitting on porcelain-on-steel and cast iron bathtubs in place, treats the metal so the rust stops, and pairs the repair with refinishing (also called reglazing or resurfacing) so the spot disappears under one glossy finish. Done in a single visit.
Fixed in One Day
use it in 24 hours
Rust Stopped
ground out, not painted over
Written Warranty
on refinished surfaces
Free Estimates
from a few photos
What a porcelain tub is, and why it chips
A “porcelain” bathtub is a thin layer of glass-like porcelain enamel fired onto metal. On most postwar homes across Los Angeles, Orange County and the Bay Area that metal is pressed steel; on older and heavier tubs, including clawfoots, it is cast iron. The enamel is hard and glossy, but it is brittle and thin, and the metal underneath is not waterproof.
Enamel does not flex, so it does not get stress cracks the way fiberglass does. It chips from impact and it wears through where water sits. A dropped bottle or a shower door leaves a crescent chip on the rim or floor; years of standing water wear the enamel through around the drain and overflow. Repairing a porcelain tub means removing the rust, filling the chip level and sealing the metal again, and done properly it is a one-day job.
If you have been searching for “porcelain tub repair near me” 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.
Chips, rust and pitting on porcelain tubs
Three problems, one cause: enamel that has been breached. Here is where each one shows up and how it is fixed.
Chips at the drain
The drain and overflow are where a porcelain-on-steel tub fails first. Water sits there, the enamel thins and flakes, and the exposed steel rusts in a ring around the fitting. We grind the flaking enamel and rust back to sound metal, treat it, fill the ring flush and seal it so nothing bleeds through the new coating. Enamel that has crumbled all the way around the drain into open, rusted-through steel is the one drain repair that rarely holds.
Chips on the rim and floor
Crescent chips from dropped bottles, shower doors and tools. Each chip is cleaned to sound enamel, any rust underneath is removed, then it is filled with a hard two-part compound, built up in layers if it is deep, and sanded level. Under a full refinish it is gone. Multiple chips add repair time and are quoted before we begin.
Rust and pitting
Rust never starts on intact enamel; it follows a chip, a scratch or worn enamel at the drain. Once started it creeps under the surrounding enamel and lifts it, so the damage spreads. Surface rust and shallow pitting are ground to bright metal, treated and filled. Rust that has eaten through the steel, or that is coming from underneath the tub, cannot be fixed by refinishing and means the tub is at the end of its life.
Worn, dull and stained enamel
Decades of cleaning wear the gloss off enamel until it is rough, porous and stained in ways no cleaner touches. This is not a repair, it is a refinish: the tub is etched, primed and sprayed with a new coating that is smooth and glossy again. Cast iron and clawfoot tubs get the same treatment, inside and out, on our cast iron & clawfoot refinishing page.
Why hardware-store porcelain touch-up fails
A tube of porcelain repair paint looks like a bargain, and most people who call us about a chip have tried one. It fails the same way every time:
- The rust is left underneath. The paint goes over rust that was never ground out, so the rust keeps working and lifts the patch from below.
- Nothing for it to bond to. Fired enamel is glass-hard and glossy. Without an acid etch and sanding, no coating grips it, which is why the patch peels at the edges.
- It does not match. Enamel yellows with age. A bright white dab on a thirty-year-old tub is visible from the doorway, and the paint itself yellows differently over time.
A failed touch-up is not the end of the world, but it has to be fully stripped before a proper repair, which is the most common reason the $35–$175 surcharge applies. Our guide to bathtub refinishing kits covers the full-tub version of the same story.
Color-matching a spot repair vs. refinishing the tub
We can do a spot repair: grind out the rust, fill the chip, and blend a matched coating over the area. On a tub that is only a few years old and still bright, the match is good. On the typical 1960s to 1990s tub the enamel has yellowed and lost its gloss, and a fresh repair is always a shade whiter and shinier than what surrounds it. We will tell you which case yours is from the photos.
The alternative is to do the repair and then refinish the whole tub, so every square inch is the same new color and gloss and the chip is simply gone. It costs a little more than the spot repair, takes the same visit, comes with a written warranty and fixes the dull, stained enamel at the same time. That is what most porcelain repair customers choose. The finish itself is described on our porcelain tub refinishing page and the general process on bathtub refinishing.
How we repair a porcelain tub
The steps that separate a repair that lasts from a touch-up that lifts in a year.
Inspect
We check the rim, floor, drain and overflow for chips, rust and worn enamel, and tap-test the tub to confirm steel or cast iron. Anything rusted through is identified now, not after we start.
Grind out the rust
Each chip and rust spot is ground back to bright, sound metal and treated so the rust stops. This is the step every touch-up kit skips and the reason they fail.
Fill and level
The chip is filled with a hard two-part compound, built up in layers if deep, then sanded flush with the surrounding enamel and sealed.
Etch, prime and coat
For a full refinish the tub is acid-etched and sanded so the coating bonds to fired enamel, then primed and sprayed with several coats of commercial-grade finish. For a spot repair, the blended area is etched and coated the same way.
Cure
Ready to use in about 24 hours. Keep abrasive cleaners and scouring pads off the new surface, and do not leave a wet mat in the tub.
Porcelain tub repair cost
Chip repair is priced on top of the refinish, with a surcharge only when there is more damage than a standard job.
Quotes come from your photos and any surcharge is agreed before work starts. Everything that moves the price is in our refinishing cost guide; a tub that is rusted through belongs in our replacement cost guide instead. Cracks, holes and every other kind of damage are on our bathtub repair page.
Porcelain tub repair across California
Porcelain-on-steel tubs sit in most postwar homes and apartments, and our technicians repair them across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Francisco, Marin, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, with no travel charge in those metro areas. Check your city on our service areas page, or see what neighbors say on our reviews page.
Porcelain tub repair questions
Yes. The chip is ground to sound enamel, any rust on the exposed steel is removed and treated, and the area is filled with a hard two-part compound, sanded level and refinished. Under a full refinish the chip is invisible; a spot repair on its own is always slightly visible.
Minor chips and light rust are filled as part of a standard refinish, which runs $350–$500 for most tubs. Multiple chips, a rusted-through spot or stripping an old touch-up adds a repair surcharge of $35–$175, quoted before we start. A spot repair without refinishing is quoted on inspection.
Because a porcelain tub is enamel over steel or cast iron. The enamel is the only thing keeping water off the metal, so once it chips the bare metal rusts within weeks. The rust then creeps under the surrounding enamel and lifts it, which is why an untreated chip keeps growing.
Touch-up paint is applied over a glossy, unetched surface and usually over rust that was never removed. It has nothing to bond to, it does not match the color, and the rust keeps working underneath it, so it yellows and lifts within months. A professional repair removes the rust, fills the chip and etches the surface before coating.
It can, and on a newer tub the color match is reasonable. On an older tub the enamel has yellowed and dulled, so fresh filler and coating always stand out. Because the price difference is small, most customers have the whole tub refinished and the chip disappears.
A magnet sticks to both. Tap the side: a steel tub gives a higher metallic ring, cast iron a dull, heavy thud. Steel tubs are the ones that chip and rust through at the drain most often; cast iron chips but almost never rusts through. Both are repaired and refinished the same way.
The refinished surface carries our written two-year limited warranty against peeling, blistering and coating separation from workmanship. New chips from dropped objects are excluded, and rust treatment is best-effort with no warranty, since rust that returns is not a workmanship defect.
Have a chipped or rusted porcelain tub?
Text us a photo of the chip for a free, no-obligation quote. Most porcelain repairs are finished in a single visit.
Related repair & refinishing services
Bathtub Repair
Chips, cracks, rust, holes and more.
Porcelain Tub Refinishing
The full-tub finish over the repair.
Porcelain Sink Repair
The same chip and rust repair on sinks.
Cracked Bathtub Repair
Hairline, stress and through-cracks.
Fiberglass Tub Repair
Spider cracks, soft floors, gelcoat.
Bathtub Inlay Repair
For flexing fiberglass and acrylic floors.
All refinishing services · Surfaces we refinish · Customer reviews
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Rust ground out, chips filled and the whole tub refinished in one visit. Send a photo for a free estimate.
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