We had the re-paint kind of job (around $1000 if I remember correctly) and it lasted a few years but now looks awful. So if you want to buy a little time, say a few years, it might be the way to go but not a long term solution. Reglazing I guess is a whole different thing. For the kind of money you have been quoted, that sounds like a nice new tub with all the trimmings! The refinishing process on ours smelled highly toxic by the way.

>>I would actually be a little leary about reglazing....from what I've heard you will get one year max out of it before it starts peeling, and you have to use special cleaners to avoid damage. >> How about the experience of someone who had it done in 2003? As with ALL paint jobs, prep is everything. Check references and do your homework. This is smelly paint, a high gloss polyurethane similar to auto paint. They will block off everything with plastic and should remove window screens as well. They will leave you a touch-up kit - USE IT immediately if the surface gets nicked. Water going underneath the paint will lift it off. The most critical thing to remember is that ALL paint jobs, no matter what type of paint and what surface, needs a full 30 days to cure completely. You can use the tub after three days, but be gentle with it until those thirty days are up. People who don't pay attention to this are the second biggest reason for reglazing failure (first being not doing your homework and using bad installers). The tub bottom may be quite slippery afterwards - I neglected to ask if they had any non-slip texturing they could do for the bottom, but my 83-yr-old MIL who uses the tub, is accustomed to using a non-suction cup bathmat. She had the same reglazing done in her house on tub and shower, and 24 yrs after it was done, she sold the house and it was still in perfect shape. The paint formulations have changed since hers was done and I wasn't expecting it to last forever. We have suction cup safety bars (plastic) which we use on the solid surface shower surround. Every once in a while they pop off and fall into the tub, or we knock over a big bottle of shampoo when we're cleaning. They're fairly heavy for being plastic, but there has been no damage to the paint at all. The tub still looks perfect. Because of the high-gloss, cleaning is simple. You can't use abrasives, but you don't need to - a spraying with one of those soap scum removers and a swish of a sponge gets everything off and the tub is gleaming again. Smartest $350 we ever spent!

You can get the kind that just slide onto a small shower head or the tub spout and you have a shower wand. That's one thing I wouldn't be without. For cleaning it I have one of those Mr. Clean things on an adjustable handle. Can't remember the name. Magic Reach or something like that? Just bought another shorter version that uses something like a Scotchbright pad now that I don't have a water softener I get the stains I didn't before so I need to do a little more cleaning... one of these days.

I'm far from an expert, but I went with reglazing when I redid our bathroom, in an old 1928 bungalow. The cost was also $400, if I recall correctly. The reglazing process was very thorough, they removed all the old glaze, down to the original, cleaned, and sprayed the new white glaze. I think the stripping and cleaning is critical, so if you do go reglaze, make sure this is done very meticulously. It has only been one year but we're extremely happy with the reglaze. It looks great, saved time and a fraction of the cost of the total replacement. Like your husband, I also did not want to mess with the plumbing -- which can get complicated for a non-professional DIY job, especially in an old house with old pipes. I cannot speak to how the reglaze will hold up over time. But so far, so good, and at the cost I think we'll be better served just reglazing the tub again when/if it needs it. Plus the old cast iron tub is quality -- they just don't make 'em like they used to any more!