fixing a chip in a tub

My contractor chipped my tub (a large chip). Does anyone know how to fix that? He, apparently, does not know how.

What materials is your tub constructed of? Porcelain cast iron, enamel steel, acrylic fiberglass?

@plyngy --I'm not sure. Can you tell from this picture? Chip covered with caulking....

tell the contractor to use his insurance to credit you for a new tub! What happened, did he drop a wrench on it?

I don't know what happened. He didn't tell me and I realized it after he left when I thought I was just cleaning up a glob of leftover caulking.

I'm curious--'thought I was just cleaning up a glob of leftover caulking.' From that statement, I conclude the contractor attempted to hide said damage by spreading caulk like frosting? If yes, never use said contractor again, and absolutely withhold final payment or a portion thereof.

I'm a carpenter. I've done everything from handyman work to kitchen and bath renovations to small additions. In my experience, and unfortunately, I have had this experience, you will never be able to 'fix' that chip. At best, you're looking at a band-aid (unless, of course, you reglaze the entire tub).

More to the point, that this damage wasn't proactively pointed out to you by either the contractor or his employee says a lot, frankly. And, again, I say that from painful experience....I've paid for more than a few errors over the years.

That's exactly what happened. Honestly, I can't believe he didn't tell me and I can't believe he would think that I wouldn't notice.

Give him a chance to fall on his sword? Did one of his guys do it and not communicate with him? Still, if he doesn't at least immediately offer to pay to reglaze the tub...again, to me, that says a lot.

My hunch is, reglazing is about the only option. Someone could go to the paint aisle in the Home Depot and buy paint purportedly designed for this sort of thing, but that isn't much of an option--said repair will never look good, I promise you (I've done it). I once used Kohler's proprietary repair kit, which came with an infrared light to harden the material and was all sorts of cool to use, but, ultimately, the repair still looked like crap--or, at the very least, looked like precisely what it was, a repair. In my experience, there's no way to repair a chip of that size in any way whatsoever that will mask the damage to a degree that will make you forget that 'hey, remember when my contractor ruined my bathtub.'

Replacing the tub, the alternative to reglazing, is an obvious nightmare--I could explain the process if you'd like, but, suffice to say, it's a fairly major operation...and at that, if not done correctly and with care, replacing it will create still more problems down the line.

At the end of all of it, what's it worth to you? Can you live with that chip if the contractor 'rebates' the cost of the tub? If yes, then withhold that amount. But, again, I'm afraid you're kinda out of luck if you were hopeful of a repair to make you forget that damage...

I'm really sorry to say, but this sucks. I hope they can remedy the situation easier than I am thinking.

I don't mean to pile on, but I wouldn't exactly call this a chip. This is a pretty significant hole and could only have occurred through a pretty sizable impact that would have been impossible to have not noticed.

I had a similar issue with a contractor... chipped tub that a worker tried to hide. Luckily my contractor brought someone in to repair the damage, on his dime, which yours should do as well. My tub was fiberglass.

Thanks. I'll be speaking to him on Monday. It was him, not a worker...

This guy will make it look like it never happened!

..... ACE Chip Repair 862-368-6164 repair819@yahoo.com

I've used him for customers a few times and he's great

I don't suppose he can stop a rust circle that I think may be starting to form around my tub drain?

sprout, Whink rust stain remover. Amazing stuff! Effective and easy to use. Very strong; you have to be careful with it.

(and I love the announcement on the bottle, to the effect of: if you're not willing to follow our directions, don't buy this product)

http://www.whink.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=cEcommerce.Product&ProductID=4328

To be honest, though... I use it for stains on clothes/towels. Website says it's also OK for white bathtubs, but it doesn't say whether it could damage the metal around your drain.

enjoy?

My fear is that it's not really a stain so much as the enamel layer wearing away around the drain area. And the tub is an aqua color (from the 1970's).

@plungy Thanks!!