Oakland Bathtub Reglazing & Refinishing

What we refinish

Reglazing & refinishing services in Oakland

One crew, one finish system, every bathroom and kitchen surface short of granite. Pick the fixture and see the full method, pricing and before/after on each page.

• Bathtub Reglazing

  Cast-iron, porcelain, steel, fiberglass and acrylic tubs etched, primed and sprayed back to a glass-smooth white finish.

  $715–$885 See bathtub details →

• Shower Refinishing

  Fiberglass shower stalls, pans and tile surrounds resurfaced to seal crazing and stop the dingy, gritted-out look.

  $915–$1,035 See shower details →

• Sink Reglazing

  Chipped porcelain bathroom and cast-iron kitchen sinks re-coated, with rust spots cut out and filled level first.

  $425–$500 See sink details →

• Countertop Refinishing

  Laminate, Formica and cultured-marble counters and vanity tops re-coated in a solid color or stone-look finish.

  $525–$650 See countertop details →

• Tile Reglazing

  Dated wall and floor tile around the tub re-colored without tear-out — the grout is etched and sealed in the same coat.

  from $510 See tile details →

• Clawfoot & Antique Tubs

  Heritage clawfoot and roll-top tubs stripped, lead-safe where needed, and refinished inside and out — a custom exterior color is yours to pick.

  Heritage specialty See clawfoot details →

One job, several names

Reglazing, refinishing, resurfacing, refacing — the same Oakland work

Search around and you'll see five words for this: reglazing, refinishing, resurfacing, refacing and re-enameling. On an Oakland fixture they all describe one job — bonding a single fresh coating onto your existing tub, shower, sink, countertop or tile so it looks new again. The cast-iron or fiberglass piece you already own stays bolted in place; there is no tear-out and no plumbing pulled.

That is a different product from a bath liner or insert, which is a separate acrylic shell dropped over the old tub and sealed at the rim. A liner hides the original; we restore it. So if a Rockridge contractor quoted you a "tub refacing" or a Temescal listing says "bath resurfacing," it is the same surface restoration we spray every day — finished in 3–5 hours for $715–$885.

The Oakland question

Reglaze or replace your Oakland tub?

Most of the tubs we see are worth saving. The math and the building stock both point the same way.

Pulling a cast-iron tub out of a Rockridge or Temescal bathroom is rarely a clean swap. The tub is wall-set into original tile, the drum trap and plumbing predate code, and once the wall opens up the bill climbs fast — demolition, a new tub, new tile, a plumber, and days of a torn-up bathroom. A full replacement on a pre-war Oakland tub commonly lands in the low-to-mid thousands. Reglazing the same tub costs $715–$885, keeps the heavy cast-iron fixture that newer tubs can't match, and is finished in an afternoon.

Across the 1,800-odd Oakland tubs we have refinished since 2009, fewer than one in fifty has come back for a warranty callback — the building stock here simply rewards saving the original fixture. There are honest exceptions, and we will tell you when we hit one. A tub with a cracked-through structural break, severe substrate rot under a fiberglass unit, or a body so far gone that the floor flexes is a replacement, not a refinish. Cosmetic wear is the opposite story: dull, etched enamel, surface rust at the drain, chips along the rim, a color that screams 1978, or a DIY coat that is already peeling. All of that reglazes cleanly once the prep is done right.

The other thing the building stock decides is method. Oakland's older flats and bungalows are loaded with porcelain-over-cast-iron and porcelain-over-steel, which take an acid/silane etch. The 1980s and 1990s apartment conversions around Adams Point, Grand Lake and the Fruitvale corridor are mostly fiberglass and acrylic units that need a scuff-sand and an adhesion promoter instead. Using the wrong prep for the material is the single most common reason a previous refinish failed — and it's why we route every fixture through the table above before a drop of coating goes on.