Asked on Jul 16, 2013

Any way to get paint off an old porcelain tub

Sharon Biggins
by Sharon Biggins
My daughter moved into an older house with a nice big porcelain tub. Unfortunately the previous owner painted the whole thing inside and out. Is there any way to get the paint off without using an industrial stripper? Large areas of the paint already peeled off
  3 answers
  • You can try a sharp razor blade, but I would assume that there are rust spots or scratches that were on the tub to start with that may had made the first owner to paint it in the first place. The areas that have not peeled most likely was do to better pre paint prep work, cleaner area when painted, and perhaps the scratches in the original finish that provides the right enough of surface in which the paint can bite into. They make water type paint strippers. Once the paint has been wiped out you simply wash the tub clean. You may need however to get the tub professionally refinished on site. They can assess how to remove the old paint and do this work for you.
  • Ppros Ppros on Jul 17, 2013
    Try using "Goof Off" or lacquer thinner. Neither should affect the porcelain finish.
  • Cindy Cindy on Jul 18, 2013
    Heat the paint with a hairdryer on Hi...it should bubble and lift the paint...if that doesn't work and you know someone that does autobody work ...ask them to use their hot dryer...it gets much hotter then a hairdryer...it will left the paint.