Is there a way to spray a new surface on a fiberglass bathtub to cover the areas where it has been worn down?

It's hard to get paint to dependably stick to something that's underwater alot. The paint the pros use is delron (toxic - special respirator needed) over an epoxy primer. A tub is a very awkward shape to spray paint evenly.

Swimming pool paint is epoxy - epoxy is considered self priming.

I've thought about this alot. I used to run a small motel with old porcelain tubs. Since the wear is on the bottoms and sill, and even a pro coating isn't guaranteed very much, my Idea was to just brush paint the wear areas with an epoxy paint, maybe with no-slip additive. I painted the concrete steps outside the place with that stuff (grey garage floor paint), and was very impressed with it's durability. I used it on door sills also ( high wear area). By just brush painting it, it'll be easier to touch up now and then. I think you could get a nice even edge by using water to mark off your masking tape line - put a little water in the tub, and mark the masking tape line. Skip the delron, it would make touchups harder. It would be glossier, but that would require spray painting to look good.

I never did try it at the motel. Easy to clean is priority #1 for a motel, and porcelain is easy to clean. Unfortunately, when I took the place over, I had a guy make the tubs non-slip (another high priority) - this involves using an acid to etch the surface. It was uneven and made them harder to clean - not glossy any more.

I agree with micheal about surface prep- it's about 80% of a good paint job

I've never tried the hardware store do it yourself products for bathtubs. But I have done some fiberglass work before. The rule to remember is that the quality of your outcome is 90% attributable to the quality of preperation to the treated surfaces. No skimping or corner cutting.

As mentioned above, a refinisher could probably do it. My brother had a porcelain sink and tub in his bathroom that was pink! He replaced the tub, but the sink was surrounded by tile. Making replacement expensive and a big hassle.

So he called a refinisher out to have the sink refinished white. That was seven years ago and looks great to this day. (There's no kids in the house, either.) Cost was under a hundred, back then. Only special thing we had to avoid was using abrasive cleaners. Hope this helps. Good luck!

I agree with the other response. The DIY stuff always ends up looking nearly as bad as the worn spot. Look in your yellow pages under Bathtub Refinishing for a professional. However also price a new tub, it may be a better option.

There are companies who do resurface tubs. You can buy the product at a paint store. I have not heard anything good about it however. It might be about the same price to replace the tub.

Try using Gel-Coat.