How Do I Repair a Crack or Scratch in an AcrylX Shower Wall?

A crack, chip, air pocket or thin spot in an AcrylX shower wall is handled through a warranty work order rather than with caulk or a filler, and a repairable defect on an installed unit is repaired on site by a surface repair specialist instead of being replaced. A light scratch that does not catch a fingernail is a cosmetic mark you can deal with yourself. The work order route is explained in Cracked or Damaged Shower Stall: How the Warranty Work Order and Surface Repair Visit Work; this page covers how to tell a scratch from a crack, what you can do at home, and what to send when you cannot.

What AcrylX Is and Why Caulk Will Not Fix a Crack

Ella's low-threshold three-piece and barrier-free five-piece showers are made in the USA from fiberglass with the AcrylX applied acrylic finish and Armorcore reinforced walls. The panels go together with a pin-and-slot system, so every panel is set from the front without rear access. That construction leaves a fixed set of seams to seal: each wall-to-base joint, each panel-to-panel joint, the panel edges at the drywall and the small hole near the flange at the edge of the back panel. Silicone is the right fix for an open seam, but it is not a fix for a crack, chip or void in the panel surface itself. How Do I Re-Caulk the Seams on an Ella AcrylX Shower Wall Kit? covers the seams; a break in the surface needs a surface repair, not a bead.

Two care rules apply to the AcrylX surface whatever repair you are planning. Rubbing alcohol is fine on it, and anything abrasive or acidic will damage the finish, so no abrasive pads or scouring powder. Never put a metal blade or a razor on the AcrylX surface, even to lift old silicone; a plastic edge is the tool.

First, Decide Which Situation You Are in

1. Damage found while uncrating or right after delivery. This is a freight claim, and it must be reported within 48 hours of receipt with photos of the damage and of the packaging. Keep every piece of packaging until the claim is settled, and inspect every section in good light, including the pan, each wall, the seat area and every flange edge. Never install a damaged unit.
2. A crack, void or thin spot on a unit that has not been installed yet. Contact the team before installing it, because the options for an uninstalled unit can be different from the on-site repair.
3. A crack or chip on an installed shower. This is the work order path, and a technician comes to inspect and repair.
4. A scuff or scratch that appeared after the shower went into use. This is the cosmetic case, and the fingernail test below tells you which way to go.

Light Scratches and Scuffs You Can Handle

Run a fingernail across the mark. If it does not catch, it is a surface mark. Ella publishes a polishing method for fine scratches and dull spots in acrylic: work a fine grade automotive polishing compound in with a soft cloth, then wipe clean, and never use abrasive pads or powders. That guidance is written for Ella's acrylic surfaces, and the causes it lists include installer tools or dropped hardware marking the shower pan or the area near the drain, so it is the starting point for a shower scuff as well. AcrylX is an applied acrylic finish over a fiberglass panel rather than a solid acrylic sheet, so keep the polishing to surface marks that do not catch a fingernail. For stubborn construction debris rather than a scratch, use mild detergent first, then a little denatured alcohol on a soft cloth if it remains. Ella does not carry a touch up kit. For a small nick, the team typically points to a gloss white appliance epoxy touch up paint from a hardware store, and an acrylic refinishing professional can handle deeper damage. There Is a Scratch in the Acrylic. Is There a Touch Up Kit? has the full sequence, and the safe move on a shower wall is to photograph the mark with something for scale, such as a coin, and send it to the team before opening any filler or paint.

One product to keep separate: Ella's cultured marble bases and travertine wall panels have a gel coat surface, not an AcrylX one. Gel coat is a sprayed resin over fiberglass whose color sits only in the outer layer, so a chip in gel coat shows differently and the acrylic polishing steps do not carry over. How do I repair a chip or scratch in a gel coat Ella shower? covers that finish.

Cracks, Chips and Voids: Opening a Work Order

If the mark catches a fingernail, or you can see a crack, chip, air pocket or thin spot, do not polish and do not fill it. Ella files the claim with the shower manufacturer's warranty department, which assigns a work order to a local service partner, typically a surface repair specialist. Ella does not send its own technicians; the service partner does. The path applies to one-piece stalls and multi-piece kits, including units bought through a retailer. Send four things through ellasbubbles.com/support or by calling (800) 480-6850:

• Photos that clearly show all of the damage. Hairline cracks are hard to see in photos, so circle them or add an arrow, and include one wide shot showing where the damage sits on the unit.
• The address where the shower is installed.
• The name and phone number of the person the repair company should contact to schedule the visit.
• Proof of purchase, such as the retailer receipt or purchase order number, plus the model number from the packaging or receipt.

Once the team has all four items, the request goes to the warranty department, which creates a numbered work order and assigns it to a partner in your area. Ella sends you a copy with the partner's name and phone number, and the partner contacts you to schedule the visit. At the visit the technician inspects the base and walls for integrity, including voids and air bubbles hidden beneath the surface, repairs the defect if it can be repaired, and notes and addresses any additional irregularities found under the same work order. Damage caused by a dropped tool or an impact during installation is not a manufacturing defect, though the technician will still inspect the surrounding surface for factory voids.

When the Crack Started Under the Base

A crack low on a wall or in the pan is sometimes a support problem rather than a surface flaw. A base that is not fully bedded flexes under load, and on a three-piece unit or a low-threshold base the built-in back support leg must contact the subfloor, with silicone adhesive beads every 2 inches at least 1 inch high before the pan is set and screwed to the studs. The framing pocket has to match the rough-in diagram, square and plumb on a level floor; the three-piece 60 by 33 inch unit needs a pocket 60 to 60 1/4 inches wide by 33 1/4 inches deep. Ella shower bases carry a 30 year limited warranty that asks for a defect to be reported within 10 days of discovering it, and stalls carry their own printed terms, so report promptly either way. What If My Shower Stall Wall Is Out of Square or the Base Is Damaged? lists the checks in order. To keep the floor from being mistaken for damaged, use only warm water and liquid detergent or a non abrasive cleanser, never wax the textured floor, and remove any rubber mat after each use.

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