San Antonio Bathtub Refinishing PBRA Local Chapter

The Professional Bathtub Refinishers Association has developed their own line of UV Curable Coatings and are currently working with other green technologies for the bathtub refinishing industry actually for just about any hard  kitchen and bath surface.  See what other refinishers think about the PBRA

The process of UV curing has been around for many years now and curiously enough your first encounter with UV Light technology may have been At your local dentist
or possibly a fender bender where you needed a quick touch up on your vehicle.

To better understand this article Let us first define bathtub refinishing: It's the restoration of your currect bathtub in place without ripping and tearing it out. Often referred to bathtub reglazing, resurfacing, refinishing, it's reall all the same thing. A refinisher must find the hardest most durable flexible product he can apply to mimic the original surface. Bonding the original surface is key in the process. Etching, adhesion promoters, epoxy primers just about anything a refinisher can do to ensure the new coating will adhere. Technology has finally taken the next step up.

The PBRA has recently been adapting this new and exciting process to the bathtub refinishing industry. There are some in this industry who are debating whether or not the process actually works. This I find amusing as I don't see any issue to debate. We have been spraying and testing UV coatings for a few months now and have just about finalized our process. All the informed companies and individuals with first hand experience are not asking whether or not it works but how can we make it a more practical solution  for our industry?  

If our own experience is not enough to convince you then how about multi billion dollar companies who span the globe that are currently using UV technology? Remember when reading this that the bathtub refinishing industry is only a tiny micron spec of an industry compared to the automotive refinish industry. The bathtub refinishing industry is so tiny that chemical companies will hardly give you the time of day unless you show some serious potential in your particular vertical field. So if the UV cured Automotive refinish shops are currently using this technology   I can tell you without a doubt from first hand experience in both automotive and the bathtub refinishing industry most people are a little more picky about the paint falling off their $100,000 Mercedez Benz or BMW than a $350 bathtub refinishing job.

How it works:  (Photos Courtesy of Radtech.org)

After UV paint is applied to the vehicle, the film will remain wet until it is exposed to UV energy. The polymer chains that make up the coating remain short and unconnected until UV light is directed onto the paint film. When UV light is focused onto the paint surface, chemicals known as photoinitiators are activated, which start the cross-linking process in the paint film. In just a few minutes the polymer chains are linked together to form a very large network. This causes the paint to solidify and cure.

This process is somewhat similar to the process associated with exposing photographic film, or more graphically, the exposure and development of Polaroid film, which was popular several years ago. Nothing happens to film until the film is exposed to light. When that happens, chemical reactions occur that change the film. In the case of Polaroid film, the whole set of reactions, including exposure and developing, happened in a minute or two before your eyes, just like the UV curing action of UV paints. The end result is you will have a bathtub refinishing coating in this case that will be zero voc's totally green non toxic but without sacrificing performance. Plus it dries in seconds! This means you can use the bathtub as soon as we leave, no toxins in the house, and it's extremely durable. If your a hotel owner or chain this means no lost revenue. But most importantly Its all about health and going protecting the Environment. The real pay off is it's actually more durable then conventional systems.


Most of the UV refinishing lights I have seen are large and cumbersum for a mobile service business and not exactly what I first invisioned a year ago. My first thought was great, we can spray a coating and waive a light over it and we are done. " NOT" ! I wish it were that way but anyone who has actually refinished a bathtub using this sytem in its present state will tell you it's not that simple.  However as we adapt to the technology I am certain the lights will become smaller and more portable and our techniques will improve.
Th PBRA now has a light that reminds us more of a blow dryer that functions and performs without a large transformer. Here is a video of the PBRA light in action. It's small, portable, and it has the power to get the job done.

Being a pro-active organization we at the PBRA chose to do our own testing  by hiring our own chemical company and purchasing all the equipment to began our research from the ground up so that we may formulate a system so vertical to our industry I am sure it will be the first of it's kind. It may not be the first on the market but I am sure it will end up the best.

The PBRA made this investment because we would rather form our own opinions based on science, practical testing and first hand knowledge. As Professional refinishers we could never rely on hear  say, loose talk, and speculation.

After making these investments and working with whom we believe to  be the leader in uv chemical technology we spent hundreds if not thousands of hours on research before even turning on our uv light. It is only now  we feel qualified to render a good opinion regarding the process and feel comfortable adapting this process to the PBRA refinishing standards. 

The PBRA urges caution before making decisions in your operation based on opinions from  arm chair UV coatings experts.  Many of these opinions are flawed as they rely on what they hear rather than their own actual hands on experience. 

The  PBRA  sets its own high standards instead sitting on the fence talking about what maybe or simply repeating what others say. There is absolutey no doubt or really nothing to debate as any informed person working within this industry knows the process works.

It was a compliment to the PBRA that we could even get our foot in the door with our currently chemical company.  They had enough faith in us and our abilities and business concepts that they took us on a client.  We are busy perfecting the performance and ease of use for our vertical market.  We chose to perfect this technology as it stands to reason that if the automotive refinish industry is already using the technology you can bet it was only a matter of time before it spilled over into the bathtub refinishing industry.

Midwest Chemicals a company based in Orlando Florida should be credited for introducing one technique to the bathtub refinishing industry but it by no means has a corner on the market in uv technolgy as a whole. We are both simply adapting a process to our existing industry. 

The PBRA released or uv cured bathtub coatings a few months back but only after extensive accelerated testing to ensure we can meet the demands of a UV  bathtub refinishing solution. We would  rather do this then jump gun just to be first like the one currently being promoted.  We can all agree  Going green is always politically correct in public and we finally reached a practical solution for our industry. For the consumer we know that if you can buy a solvent based system in your area  from a reputable supplier it's perfectly fine to use without any problems as long as proper precautions are taken by your professional refinisher to isolate the area. In fact you still need to isolate the area with UV products. However we are still the safest greenest choice. 

In Closing I have added an article regarding the history of bathtubs. We have this huge industry centered on a single plumbing fixture that dates back to antiquity where people bathed by candle light or oil lamp out of necessity to now when using a candle is for simply relaxation or for a romantic moment. I think about that I write about UV technology and bathtubs. Then or now bathtubs are still a place for those two precious moments. A little history.


If your a San Antonio Texas or Surrounding area resident you must visit our home page and see our list of services. We perform all types of restorations and refinishing processes and use only the best products in this industry. If we can further entice you to visit our home page so watch our local videos there is a $100 Coupon you can print on our site. We have a 24-7 Hot line 1-888-414-8827 (tubs) or Local 210-849-0400, We are the only company who has mastered the UV Green Bathtub Refinishing Process. Just as lead base paint gave way to oil based paint, and oil paints are now succumbing to Latex, we within this industry are the safest and most durable choice.