Fiberglass vs Acrylic Tub: Which Bathtub Material Is the Better Choice?

For a tub you plan to use every day, acrylic is the better bathing surface. It is a solid sheet with the color running all the way through, while a fiberglass tub relies on a thin sprayed gel coat that is described as brittle and prone to chipping and cracking. Every current Ella walk-in tub uses an acrylic surface with fiberglass on the back for strength, and Gelcoat vs Acrylic Walk-In Tub: Which Material Holds Up Better? covers the gel coat side of the comparison in detail.

What People Mean by a Fiberglass Tub and an Acrylic Tub

The two names describe which material faces the bather. That is the part worth understanding before you compare anything else, because both kinds of tub can contain fiberglass.

• A fiberglass tub is a multi-layer system. A gel coat is sprayed into the mold first, and the tub is then built up behind it with fiberglass and resin. The surface you touch and clean is that sprayed finish layer, and the fiberglass behind it is there for stiffness.
• An acrylic tub starts as a sheet. An Ella shell is a solid acrylic and ABS sheet that is heated and vacuum-formed over the mold into one seamless surface. The white is part of the sheet itself, so there is no separate finish layer to wear through.

The confusing part is that an Ella acrylic tub also contains fiberglass. Gel-coated fiberglass is applied to the back of the acrylic for strength, the shell is set on the stainless steel frame, and further fiberglass layers bond the shell and the frame into a single structure. No fiberglass is used on the bather side, so the surface you sit on and touch is acrylic throughout. The full build is described in What Are the Acrylic Shell and Stainless Steel Frame on a Walk-In Tub?.

So the real question is not whether a tub has fiberglass in it. The question is whether fiberglass and its gel coat are the surface you bathe on, or the hidden reinforcement behind a solid acrylic sheet.

Fiberglass and Acrylic Side by Side

What the table means in practice: the difference you will notice over the years is in the surface layer. With acrylic, the color and gloss belong to a solid sheet, so wear does not expose a different material underneath. With a gel coat fiberglass tub, everything you see depends on a thin sprayed finish, and when that finish chips or cracks, the fix is a refinishing job instead of a polish. An Ella shell gets the stiffness of fiberglass without asking the fiberglass to be the bathing surface.

What the Video Shows

In the video on this page, an installer who has worked with both materials explains why they chose acrylic tubs. They describe acrylic as one solid piece of material over the entire bathtub, the same kind of material used for football helmets, and say that if the tub ever gets dull it can be buffed right out, which keeps maintenance and service needs very low.

The installer then describes the problem with fiberglass tubs. It is a multi-layer system that starts with a gel coat and is built up with fiberglass resin, the finish is very brittle, and the tub expands and contracts as hot and cold water move through it. They recall going out many times to tubs of that type to do a full fiberglass repair, then refinish, buff and polish the surface. That hands-on experience is the reason their advice is to choose acrylic.

How Each Surface Ages, and What Care Acrylic Needs

Because the white runs through an acrylic sheet and does not sit on top of it, acrylic resists fading far better than a sprayed gel coat finish. The surface is non-porous, so it wipes clean and resists mold, mildew and staining. Acrylic does have a few simple care rules that keep it glossy:

• Use approved non-abrasive cleaners, and avoid bleach and bath bombs.
• Never use abrasives on the shell. They are what dull and scratch an acrylic finish.
• Bring back dull spots or light scratches with a fine-grade automotive polishing compound.
• Have grab bars installed with the large metal washer under the shell, since omitting it can crack the acrylic.

Acrylic is durable, but no finish is beyond marking. If a hairline crack or a small indentation ever appears in the finish of an Ella tub, it is almost always cosmetic. The finish sits on top of fiberglass reinforcement that carries the structure and holds the water, so a crack that stays in the surface layer is not a path for a leak. A small mark can be blended with a brush-on appliance epoxy touch-up in a matching white, and the steps are in Hairline Crack or Small Dent in the Tub Finish: Why It Is Usually Cosmetic and How to Touch It Up. Send photos through ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850 before you plan any repair.

What the Material Choice Means for Your Bathroom

A walk-in tub is filled, heated and drained far more often than a decorative soaking tub, so the surface goes through many cycles of hot and cold water. That is exactly the condition the video describes as hard on a brittle gel coat finish, and it is the reason the surface material matters more on a walk-in tub than on almost any other fixture in the room.

On an Ella tub, the acrylic shell is only one part of the structure. It is bonded to a rust-proof stainless steel frame with threaded leveling feet, and larger tubs add center legs so the frame cannot twist while the pumps run. The frame spreads the weight of the tub, the water and the bather to the floor, so the shell is not left to carry that load alone. What Are the Shell, Frame, Door and Towel Bar of an Ella Walk-In Tub Made Of? lists the material of each part, including the doors.

Each tub is also tested before it leaves the building. Ella tubs are assembled, jetted and tested to order in Chicago, where quality control fills the tub and runs the motors for several hours before mechanical, electrical and water tests. Where Are Ella Tubs Made? explains that process and where the acrylic shells themselves are manufactured.

If you are comparing tubs from different makers, the simplest check is to ask what the bathing surface is. A solid acrylic sheet with fiberglass behind it and a sprayed gel coat over fiberglass can look similar in a showroom, yet they age and repair very differently.

Watch: Acrylic Over Fiberglass: The Better Walk-In Tub Choice | Voted Safest/Best 2020 | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• How Ella Tubs Are Built: Acrylic Shell, Fiberglass Reinforcement, and Stainless Frame
• Scratches, Scuffs, or Discoloration on the Acrylic: Surface Care and Touch-Up Kits

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