Non-wooden bathtub panel?

andre_xs

Dear All,
Maybe we do something wrong, but the standard wooden bathtub panels always break so quickly? Naturally, they get wet (in particular with kids), and tiny cracks in the paint will result in the wood swelling up, more paint flaking off, and so on.

So I was wondering whether there are other options, e.g. panels which are not made of wood (some kind of plastic)?

Or would it make sense to give these panels a good coat of an extra tough paint before installing them? (if so, any recommendations?)

Best wishes,

Andre 

Bendy_House

I suspect these 'wood' panels are actually MDF, which is just not suitable for wet situations.

You can get good quality ones with a much thicker and tougher top coating, but again, if this layer is breached, it will suffer, and quickly.

In theory a further coat of good quality 'exterior' paint should but it some time, but best, I think, is to buy a better quality one in the first place, FULLY sealed on all sides and edges, and NOT cut!

FreeBear

andre_xs said: So I was wondering whether there are other options, e.g. panels which are not made of wood (some kind of plastic)?

Most baths come with a plastic (acrylic) panel - One example - https://www.screwfix.com/p/grove-bath-front-panel-to-go-1700mm-white/75834 - You sometimes need a frame kit to give it a bit more rigidity.. But plastic panels don't suit all bathrooms. Sometimes, a nice varnished/painted panel looks best.

Gavin83

If you wish to use wood for a bath panel, especially if it’s MDF I’d paint it with a decent paint (plus an MDF friendly undercoat!) and then add a top layer of something hard wearing, such as a polyurethane varnish. There’s always a risk involved though.

andre_xs

Thanks for the info. I'll have a look at acrylic ones. Can the acrylic ones be sawed?

When you say "good quality" wooden panels - where can I find those? I've looked around here at the usual home improvement places, but it seems they usually have the standard MDF ones, which are already painted in white.

daveyjp

Check it is actually paint.  Ours is MDF which looks painted, but its actually a plastic cover.

  Only issue in many years is the plastic came detached in one corner.  It was soon glued back on.

FreeBear

andre_xs said:

Thanks for the info. I'll have a look at acrylic ones. Can the acrylic ones be sawed?

When you say "good quality" wooden panels - where can I find those? I've looked around here at the usual home improvement places, but it seems they usually have the standard MDF ones, which are already painted in white.

Acrylic panels can be cut to fit rould pipes & stuff. Just use a fine blade and take care.

A good quality wooden bath panel, you may have to go out and source the materials from a decent local timber merchant - Won't be particularly cheap, but you'll end up with something that you like. Maybe a sheet of marine grade birch ply with stringers & fancy bits glued/screwed/nailed on then painted/varnished - This thread shows what can be achieved with basic materials - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6360969/desperately-need-carpentry-advice-closed-thread/p5