What Will Adhere to a Fiberglass Shower Pan?

Tile

• Bonding materials to fiberglass is usually not an issue unless you want to tile over a shower to give it a different look. This can be difficult: ceramic tile is designed to bond to some materials, but fiberglass is not one of them. The fiberglass would crack the adhesive and refuse to hold the bond properly. However, if you have a flat fiberglass base, you may be able to install cement fiberboard on top of it with room and slant cut for the drain, and then install tile on top of the fiberboard.

Sealers

• Sealers will adhere to a fiberglass shower, and many were actually designed to. Fiberglass gel coats and sealants can bond well to the surface. You can also use caulks to seal the edges of a fiberglass shower if you are installing it. While requiring more work than other materials, silicone caulks are often used in bathrooms because of their flexibly waterproof features and their ability to bond well with substances such as fiberglass.

Epoxy

• If you want to repaint your fiberglass tub, you cannot use any type of latex or oil-based paint, which will just flake off the fiberglass surface. Fiberglass paints are epoxy based, made from chemicals that are combined and then cured for a new plastic coating with a different color. Do not try to use any other type of paint product, and follow mixing instructions carefully to avoid mistakes.

Proper Preparation

• The key to establishing a new layer over the fiberglass shower is preparation. The gel coating will repel most types of adhesives, so you will need to sand it away and roughen the fiberglass. This in turn creates a lot of dust that must be removed. You can use a vacuum cleaner and muriatic acid for the final cleaning steps. Wait until the fiberglass is fully dry before trying to glue or paint.