How to repair a lightly cracked porcelain shower base?

Sources

Hairline cracks on acrylic shower base : r/HomeMaintenance - Reddit

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Shower Tray Crack Repair (No Repair Kits) - YouTube

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I have a crack in my shower tray. Can it be repaired or ... - MyBuilder

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Answer

Here are the key points on how to repair a lightly cracked porcelain shower base based on the text search results:

• Epoxy or fiberglass repair kits can be used as a short-term to medium-term solution for hairline cracks in an acrylic shower base1. However, most experts recommend replacing the entire shower base rather than attempting a repair, as repairs are unlikely to last long-term3.
• For porcelain shower bases, commercial-grade repair materials and techniques used by professionals tend to be more effective than DIY repair kits
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  . DIY kits often result in poor color matching or the repair peeling off quickly.
• A professional repair involves drilling holes at the ends of the crack to prevent further cracking, filling the crack with a specialized filler compound, and resurfacing the entire shower base for a seamless finish
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• Supporting the shower base from underneath with spray foam or shims can help prevent future cracking by reducing flexing1.
• While some suggest using sealants or epoxy for a temporary fix, most experts agree that a cracked shower base that is leaking will eventually need to be fully replaced3. Attempting a repair may only delay the inevitable replacement and cause further water damage.

In summary, for a lightly cracked porcelain shower base, hiring a professional to properly repair and resurface the base is recommended over DIY repair kits, which are unlikely to provide a long-lasting solution

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3. But full replacement is often advised, especially if the base is leaking13.

Video Full Text

• 00:00 Hello and welcome to freedom finishes master craftsman workshop. My name is mike mckowski and I will be your host. As today we take you through how to repair a cracked shower base. In addition to your normal refinishing equipment. You're going to need some additional tools and supplies to fix a cracked shower base. You're going to drill you're going to need a drill bit size 3/16 to quarter inch you're going to need a can or multiple cans of stabilizing foam two-part epoxy weld. We use a jb weld fiberglass resin fiberglass cloth small brush. Some body filler and a 6 inch putty knife okay. Now let's take a look at the steps in the process to repair a cracked shower base just like any other refinishing situation. First you're going to set up your ventilation.

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• 01:03 Then you're going to tape and paint breath. This around you're gonna cover the shower head to prevent water from dripping on the surface and then you're gonna remove the drain. The rest of the segments in the process we're going to go through and show you pictorials or videos of each specific segment as you can see for the picture of the shower. Basin has two significant fractures about seven to eight inches long in two different spots and the floor between. It was pre spongy so let's go ahead and grab our drill. Now you're ready to drill your holes before you drill. Your holes inspect the bottom of the shower basin look for areas that are really spongy if the whole bottom spongy you're gonna drill holes 7 to 10 inches apart across the bottom of the shower Basin if there's just one area that spongy that needs to be secured. Then you're gonna drill just around that particular area. In our situation.

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• 02:05 The entire floor needed to be stabilized so we drilled holes throughout the entire floor. Once your holes are drilled you're ready to use your spray foam. You're gonna use the spray foam to fill underneath the shower basin to stabilize the floor of the shower base. Each can of stabilizing foam comes with straw attached to strata to can and simply stick the straw in the hole and fill the cavity underneath the shower basin with foam you'll know when you filled it enough when in adjacent holes or near the crack the foam will start to expand and expand up through the hole just continue the process and fill all the holes until all the holes are filled once you've filled.

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• 02:54 All the holes you're. Gonna remove the excess foam that is emerging up through the holes and expanding out through the holes. You could do that just by scraping it off and using a solvent wipe to wipe off the excess foam thoroughly sand the holes that you drilled and the area that was cracked. At this point. You will then apply your two-part epoxy weld to those areas and smooth them out. Once the epoxy weld hardens you can use 180 grit sandpaper and sand the epoxy welded areas smooth.

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• 03:36 Once the shower base is clean take 180 sandpaper and sand the entire shower basin. At this point you have a couple of options after inspecting the integrity of the shower base. If your situation is that you have a very strong shower base. The and spongy your crack is small. You can very likely just use. Body filler fill the crack smooth it out and sand it down if you determine that the integrity of the shower base is not that sound the floors spongy. The fiberglass looks brittle. The crack is large you will need to use a fiberglass repair kit to strengthen the cracked area. Basically you're going to apply a resin down over the area that's cracked you're going to layer on a sheet of fiberglass mesh netting you're going to smooth out that surface and let it cure up. Once the fiberglass patch is cured and hardened takes 60 grit sandpaper and sand it out. Smooth remove any remaining dust within the shower basin with a solvent wipe. Now that's your shower Basin is cleaned and the fiberglass patch area has been sanded.

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• 05:55 Smooth. You can prepare your body filler once your body fillers thoroughly mixed skim. The fiberglass repair area with a thin coat of body filler let the body filler set up sand. It inspect it refill and sand if needed. Then you're ready to go to the spraying process to begin. The spring process take a solvent wipe and wipe the entire base of the shower. Once you've completed this solvent wipe proceed to tack out the bottom and inspect to make sure there's no remaining debris on the bottom of the shower. At this point you're ready to begin spraying proceed by spring. One coat evenly distributed across the entire shower base allow that first coat to set up for about four or five minutes. After that coating is set up.

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• 07:02 You can apply a slip resistant surface to the base of the shower to apply of freedom finishes. Non-slip surface to a shower base simply take the pre-mixed enamel with silica sand and catalyzed and pour across the base of the shower. Using a foam roller simply distribute that pre-mixed enamel that you poured on the surface evenly across the bottom of the shower to make a freedom finish. A slip resistant surface you basically take two ounces of enamel and catalyze it with a half an ounce of catalyst and mix in a portion of silica sand and steer thoroughly allow a few minutes for that non-slip surface.

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• 07:50 To set up then you'll be ready to spray your second coat of enamel across the entire shower base once you've applied your second coat of enamel across the entire shower base take a flashlight look into the enamel look for your distribution of product making sure that you have a nice finish across all areas of the shower base also look for any debris that may have fallen into the surface. If any debris did fall into the surface pick it out with the corner edge of a razor blade and simply flash a little spray of enamel on it not too much and that will self level and correct that to situation at this point take a flashlight and look into the enamel inspect. The entire shower basin make sure you've evenly distributed your enamel across the entire surface make sure it's a nice glassy finish if you've achieved that then you're done with your job and job well done. If not wait about 20-25 minutes for those first couple of coats to set up and apply one or two consecutive coats as needed to achieve the finish you're looking for once you're satisfied and your spring is complete. Let the enamel set up for about 10 minutes clean up your area and then you can very carefully remove. The tape and paper from the surround around the shower basin and your job is complete you.

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