How to remove this bathtub stain?

[JB11]

I have a yellow/brown stain on my bathtub floor. I have tried several products to get it off such as baking soda, dishwashing detergent, vinegar, Cream of tartar, Borax, and Peroxide. None of these products seem to work. Are there any other products you could suggest to get rid of this stain? If not, is it better I repaint the bathtub? Thanks

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @JB11. It's a pleasure to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about removing a stain from a bathtub.

You've tried a fairly exhaustive list of products there. Do you know whether the stain has come from something sitting on the surface or is the corrosion from under the paint? Perhaps it's a cast iron bathtub? Either way, it appears that the rust is likely embedded in the paint surface and unlikely to be removed. I'd suggest your best option would be to sand the area to remove the rust from the paint and recoat the bath with tub paint.

Before you go ahead and re-paint, it might be an idea to try CLR. I'm not overly confident it will work, but it's worth trying.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[JB11]

Hi Mitchell,

Thank you for your reply. I believe the tub is a cast iron or steel tub. The stain wasn't initially there before I moved into the place. I thought it possibly maybe a chemical stain. It seemed to get bigger after I used cleaning products. I thought that may have been from using potent ones  e.g. peroxide. I just wanted to know is it ok to use CLR on a cast iron tub.? Secondly, if I painted the bathtub should I paint the whole tub or just over the stain? Would that effect the way it looks. Looking forward to your reply. Thanks. JB11.

[MitchellMc]

Hi @JB11,

Please take a look at the area and see if it is chipped. If it is a cast iron bath and the enamel paint has chipped, then the exposed iron will rust. If it is a chip, you'll need to sand the area back to remove any traces of rust and then paint. You could likely fill it in with enamel paint if it's just a small chip. This might be an adequate repair for the area, but I'd expect rust to return sometime in the future. You can use CLR on a cast iron tub, but if an exposed portion of the iron is causing the rust, you'll need to sand the rust before painting over to seal. It all really depends on whether this is a chip and the rust is from the tub or if it's a rust stain on top of the paint.

You can try a spot repair first and paint just that area. If your repair is too noticeable, you'd likely have to paint the whole tub.

Mitchell