I saw your post on the kitchens forum and thought I'd pop over to see if I could help.

We had our tub refinished about 4 years ago now, and it still looks like new. It was refinished in the past by PO's and had been peeling. This is our only tub, so it is used every day.

We had a local company come out to do it. I could not really imagine DIY for something like this. He had to use pretty good ventilation.

Yes, the tech said not to use a suction cup mat, and to be careful what type of cleaners we used on it (we use Scrubbing Bubbles only) and to not use hair dye because the surface was more pourous.

We were able to get a non-skid surface, too.

Maybe see if you can call a pro. Good luck.

We used a company called Miracle Method. They have locations nationwide.

Like the PP, we will eventually do a larger renovation and hopefully expand the bathroom, but this was a good way to get us probably 10 more years of use. As I mentioned, this is our only tub/shower, so it's used every day, and it still looks great 4 years later.

I highly recommend adding the slip-resistant surface.

Here is a link that might be useful: Miracle Method bath refinishing

We have had ONE tub resurfaced, and it looked really nice. It cost us about $325 to do it. However, since the house was soon thereafter destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, I could not say how long the finish would last under normal conditions.

But now, we are getting ready to resurface a cast iron tub, and retile the surrounding alcove. This is much better than trying to do it ourselves, since I am totally allergic to strong chemicals.

In the long run, it is cheaper to give the job to a pro.

It is definitely not reccommended to try to refinish a tub with one of these kits sold at a retail store due to the fact that the kit is nowhere near what the professionals use.(They peel off quickly) The general public can not purchase the chemicals necessary to refinish a tub since they are haz mat for trained professional use only. To save yourself headaches and money for stripping costs. Hire a professional and save yourself alot of aggravation

dont ever use a do it yourself kit,just pay the extra money and have a professional do it.its just going to cost you more and waste more time when a pro has to chemically strip off all of the diy material that is on the tub.and the paint that comes with these kits is garbage,this needs to be applied by a pro with the best material,i would never paint my car with home depot paint same as you cant paint your tub,good paint cost money,dont be cheap,ive been refinishing tubs since 2002 and never saw a diy kit that works,,good luck in what you do