Gelcoat Fiberglass Tubs: A Stepping Stone To Acrylic

Posted on Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

While the classic clawfoot style tubs faded into history, cast iron with an enamel or ceramic finish lived on. In the 70’s, hot tubs with jets were becoming popular outside of high-end homes. Cast iron tubs weren’t being manufactured for jets or multiple people. If cast iron was used to accommodate multiple people, the tubs weight would be tremendous.

Prior to gelcoat fiberglass, people were making hot tubs out of wood. The porous material would harvest bacteria, splinter, rot, and leak. It was entirely impractical. Boat hulls were made out of fiberglass as early as the ‘40s but it was generally cost prohibitive in other applications.

Over time fiberglass became cheaper to produce. By the 70’s, it was used in a growing hot tub industry. It suffered from none of the drawbacks of wood and it allowed manufacturers to make custom shapes for jets and multi-person uses. As fiberglass gained popularity, it moved indoors. The lightness and customizable fabrication swept the industry. Both factors contributed to easy transportation and installation. For the first time in recent history, bathrooms were not being built around the tub.

The gelcoat on fiberglass tubs was the Achilles heel. Fiberglass reinforced acrylic is still used to add rigidity, but gelcoat has been generally phased out of the industry. Fiberglass tubs main problem is that they would wear out quickly. The color, which was already matte, would fade in areas of use. The porous nature of gelcoat meant that it was more difficult to clean with non-abrasive soaps. For upkeep, waxing fiberglass was necessary every two weeks.

Gelcoat fiberglass enabled an entire hot tub industry to grow. After it’s quick introduction, the appeal faded as quickly as the gelcoat finish. Acrylic surpassed fiberglass shortly after its introduction to give a shinier finish.

Part 1: A Brief History Into Bathtub Materials

Part 2: Classic Cast Iron Clawfoot Tubs

Part 3: Gelcoat Fiberglass Tubs: A Stepping Stone To Acrylic

Part 4: Acrylic: The Best Bathtub Material History Has To Offer

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