Multigenerational Company Refinishing Baths For More Than 60 Years

In 1963, there wasn’t really one approach to refinishing tubs. And there was not a plethora of companies to choose from to do that kind of work. But, there was Lectroglaz, of Chicago, and they used what was state-of-the-art back then - epoxy.“Back in the day, a lot of people used epoxy,” Chris Anderson, owner of Aarco Baths said. “It was the strongest material they could get at the time.”Anderson is the grandson of Charles Anderson, who founded Lectroglaze.From that one company there was a spin off, the partner that Charles Anderson started with eventually went out on his own and started his own business. But when Charles Anderson retired, Chris Anderson’s father Kerry Anderson took over the business. Charles moved to New Mexico and Chris Anderson grew up learning all about refinishing.“I have four brothers, we all worked for my dad,” he said. “When I was young, we had to go to work to buy things, like a new bike.”After high school, Chris Anderson tried college, but it wasn’t a good fit. He was a bartender in his 20s, was successful, with a great car, but then he was laid off. He reached out to his dad.“One thing I have always known is how to spray a bathtub,” he said. “That’s when I started working for him full time and really on my own.”Today, Chris Anderson has three technicians and generally does two jobs per day per technician. They are very busy.Refinishing tubs hasn’t changed a lot over the years, although the product used has.Instead of epoxy, today they use a modified acrylic.“What they found was that epoxy was so hard when it cures, that it cracks at the bottom. When it cures, there is no give,” Chris Anderson said.One of the other changes is that Chris Anderson does not really refinish a lot of avocado green or dusty rose tubs these days. Instead, he finds he is getting back to refresh tubs he refinished two decades ago.“If it's done properly, it should last 15 to 20 years,” he said. “We guarantee it at our company for 10 years. Most companies do 5.”He was completing a job the week we talked on the phone that he had done the first process on 18 years ago.“Anything within the past 20 years, I am usually the one who has done it,” he said. “It’s kind of fun and interesting to see people come back.“I let my guys know, ‘he’s expecting the same experience, the same longevity.’”Refinishing a tub created a “smooth, high-gloss surface, creating a perfect barrier to moisture,” according to the Aarco website. “The newly finished surface will wear the same as today’s new bathtubs & is backed by our full 10 year guarantee.”Although there is no longer a large number of customers refinishing tubs to update a color scheme, refinishing a tub is a much less expensive option to replacing. It can also allow customers to keep something like a claw-foot tub.In fact, in its warehouse in Addison, Aarco has a number of claw-foot tubs they bought with the intention to refinish and restore them. They drove about 10 hours to pick up 16 claw-foot tubs and refinished them all. He sold 11 to a buyer in Indiana.“I have three in the shop right now, Chris Anderson said. “I have one finished and one bought and waiting for (the) contractor so it can be placed,” he said.Although bathrooms are still the bread and butter for Aarco Baths, the company uses the same approach and dedication to help its clients update other areas of the home.“Besides bathtubs, tile, things like that, we do countertops, we will recoat kitchen cabinets, we will do floors, pretty much all in the refinishing category,” he said.For things like countertops or even floors, the company does a top coat with a stone coat that will make any surface look like stone. So the counters can have a granite or a stone look.“Back in the day, we used to use a base coat,” he said. “We would switch each color and coat on top of each color to give it a granite look or stone look.“So my dad would make little vials of three or four different colors,” Chris Anderson said. “Now there is a company that makes a product called stone coat.”The process is so durable, Aarco Baths has used it on apartment hallways. They will create a stone coat on a wall that goes up to the chair rail to counter the damage people might do in an apartment hallway while moving furniture in and out.And all these processes again save clients money.“We can do an entire kitchen without having to replace, hire a new contractor, buy anything new…and make it look brand new,” Chris Anderson said.In a recent kitchen job, he estimates they saved the client $30,000.“In that kitchen (we recoated) the backsplash, countertops, sprayed the cabinets and reglazed the kitchen sink,” he said.In addition to being available for any refinishing needs, Chris Anderson also is looking for more people to add to his team. For more information on that or for a quote for restoration work, visit the website at aarcobaths.com.