# Paint on the bathtub

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-on-the-bathtub/367814>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 8, 2006, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-on-the-bathtub/367814 "2006-08-08T04:05:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jeffr062](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f04885/32.png) [@Jeffr062](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeffr062)\
**Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-on-the-bathtub/367814/1 "2006-08-08T04:05:56Z")

</div>

Whats a good way to get semi gloss paint off my bathtub without hurting the finish?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-on-the-bathtub/367814/2 "2006-08-08T04:35:45Z")

</div>

Is the tub cast iron or fiberglass?  
Is the paint oil or latex?

With a cast Iron tub, I’d just use some Bix stripper (dichloromethane). That’d probably be death on fiberglass.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jeffr062](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f04885/32.png) [@Jeffr062](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeffr062)\
**Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-on-the-bathtub/367814/3 "2006-08-08T04:45:31Z")

</div>

cast iron with the enamled coating

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-on-the-bathtub/367814/4 "2006-08-08T08:49:08Z")

</div>

Carefully warming it with a hot air gun should make it soften and peel. If your bathtub has anything other than a vitreous enamel coating, this could be disastrous though.

BTW, was ‘bathtun’ a typo? It appears to be a valid word.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\
**Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-on-the-bathtub/367814/5 "2006-08-08T17:45:48Z")

</div>

Have you tried a razor blade?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\
**Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-on-the-bathtub/367814/6 "2006-08-08T19:35:37Z")

</div>

Softscrub cleaner. Probably safest for the finish, and paint shouldn’t be that hard to get up.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\
**Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-on-the-bathtub/367814/7 "2006-08-08T23:29:09Z")

</div>

Goof-Off or Goo-Gone both work on dried latex paints. Standard disclaimer-try a small area with a q-tip prior to going into rag and rub mode.