There's no way to afford a new tub right now. Does anyone know how to repair a plastic bathtub? I have a garden tub and the seat is cracked to the point that unless I keep duct tape (the only thing to stay on more than a few days so far) over the crack, the tub leaks horribly. Thanks in advance.
Try going to a bathtub sales store and explain your predicament to them. They don't bite! They will tell you what to use and how to do it. Lowes and Home Hardware will probably be your best bets. Good luck. Take a picture, if possible.
I doubt that ordinary glue would make a repair; you should also use Acetone to clean the surface area before attempting to patch. I wonder if a Hot Glue application would suffice?
There's not a place to edit the original post, so here I am with further explanation: The crack is in the inner curve of the built in seat/step of a plastic garden tub. At this point it's only a crack about 7 or 8 inches long. I've tried caulking the crack and also tried using Gorilla Glue, both of which peeled off. However, at the time I didn't realize that I needed to scuff the area with sandpaper.
Ages ago DH bought a fiberglass tub/shower with some damage. It leaked a bit. He bought a fiberglass repair kit, a horrible smelling concoction with mesh to attach to the shower wall. It wasn't attractive but it stopped the leaking. Maybe that would adhere to your plastic. If it looks too bad some decals would cover it.
It depends on how big the crack is. One option (if it is a small crack) is model glue (found in the model toy section at box stores). This works by melding the plastic together.
If there are chunks missing out of it, there are a few options. Epoxy (already mentioned), water-proof caulk, and I also think there is a JB weld for plastics (found in most Ace Hardware stores).
You could try a epoxy adhesive. They are water proof. The best are two part adhesives. They are available at Home Depot and Lowes. You will find them in the paint section. read and follow directions.
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Request: Repairing A Cracked Plastic Tub (09/01/2009)
I have a mobile home and the bathtub edge has cracked over the years and has big pieces out of it. I don't know what the material is, but I need to repair it until I can afford to replace the tub with a shower surround.
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Request: Repairing A Cracked Plastic Tub
Archived on 09/01/2009
I have a mobile home and the bathtub edge has cracked over the years and has big pieces out of it. I don't know what the material is, but I need to repair it until I can afford to replace the tub with a shower surround. I have duct taped it, but that is only a stop gap. Anybody got any ideas? It's kind of like a plastic type material, very cheesy.
Linda from Adirondack Mtns, NY
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RE: Repairing A Cracked Plastic Tub
There is a site called mobilehomerepair.com. There is some great information on how to fix just about anything that has to do with mobile homes. Just Google it and check out their forums.
I ran into this problem when I was renting a mobile home. I used Bondo. I think that's how its spelled. Its the same product they use to repair fiber glass bodies on car. Instructions are on the can and its not hard to do. (07/01/2008)
