How to Paint Ceramic Tile
Affordable Bathroom Remodeling Project
To Paint Your Bathroom Tiles You Will Need:
Mixture of ammonia and water for cleanup
Rags
Shellac-based primer
Alkyd paint in desired color
Small paint roller and paint tray
Painter's Tape
The first step is to thoroughly clean your tiles before you paint. Any small amount of grime will show through the paint. If you have mold or mildew it will also eventually show through the paint. You would think this paint process might kill the mold and mildew, but you would be wrong. There is nothing you can do about it after you have painted over the dirt and mildew, so just go ahead and clean your tiles thoroughly.
I like to use a homemade mixture of ammonia and water to do this. You can buy and ammonia based cleaner if you want to though. Ammonia is a great cleaner and dries fats when exposed to air. This will leave you with nice clean tiles that are dry and ready to be painted.
So, Clean the bathroom tile completely with a solution of 1 parts ammonia and 3 parts water and then let them dry. Scrub mildew off completely.
Now, to help the paint adhere to your bathroom tiles you need to apply a primer first. Regular old Kilz just won't work for this step of the project. You need to use a shellac-based primer to paint your bathroom tiles. This is important because you need the tile to really be coated well so the paint will stick. There is a lot of moisture and wear and tear in the bathroom, so this priming step is key. Without it your paint will peel right off the tile.
I like to roll my shellac based primer on with a smooth applying foam roller. You don't want any lines, streaks, or marks. You want your tiles to be a smooth as if they were new.
Allow this primer to dry for 24 hours before you move on to the next step. This is important because you need that primer to be working at full capacity and it can only do that if it has dried completely onto your bathroom tiles.
Once the primer has dried you can apply your paint color to your tiles. You need to paint your tiles in an Alkyd type paint. This is important again because bathroom tiles are exposed to water and moisture on a regular basis. This paint is meant to stand up to moist conditions. You can find Alkyd paints at Home Depot, Lowe's, and most hardware stores. Call ahead though and ask to save yourself time. My local hardware store does not carry it, so had to make a trip to Home Depot to buy it.
Tips:
Use painters tape to tape off your desired tile area you are painting. This will give you crisp clean lines that look professional. Be careful when removing the tape. You do not want to pull off your paint job or accidentally get this paint on your walls. You will just create more work for yourself if you have to go back and touch up finished areas.
If you are painting a shower stall I recommend using an epoxy paint. This tile paint treatment is only for bathroom floors and walls that are not in the shower stall.
Published by Ann Siper
Ann Siper is a web writer who has written for online sites such as Demand Studios, ehow.com, Goodhousekeeping.com and Overstock.com. She writes on a variety of topics, including holidays, health and fitness,... View profile
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How to Paint Ceramic Tile
Did you know you can paint ceramic tile if it isn't the color you want? Ceramic tile must be properly cleaned and prepared before painting, but it's really easy to do!
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- The first step is to thoroughly clean your tiles before you paint.
- Any small amount of grime will show through the paint.
- I like to use a homemade mixture of ammonia and water to do this.
10 Comments
Post a Commenthi everyone - just an update.
i originally posted back in march09 and now its december09 and the painted tile floor has held up perfectly. i ended up doing the front foyer that attached to the powder room and did a marble/stone effect over the tiles. everyone that comes over thinks we replaced the tile and are shocked when i tell them its painted. except for a tiny chip or two, which i can easily touchup, the floor has held up fine. i guess the melamine paint was a great choice as i did not put a clear coat on top (i heard they yellow over time). i am tempted to do the kitchen.. but that is a HUGE area to do...
we are also toying with the idea of painting our badly damaged hardwood floors... perhaps also faux finish it with a stone effect... who knows! paint is awesome!
hi everyonei recently painted the floor tiles in our powder room with AMAZING results. i spent a lot of time online trying to find answers on how to do it, but it was mostly negative. here is my story:
1) sand down the tile to try and remove shine and anything else that isnt washing off.
2) wash the tile and grout well with a TSP paste and then rinse with water. let dry.
3) taped off around sink and toilet bottom as well as baseboards.
4) primed the tiles and grout with zinser alkyd primer (123? i think its calleD). 2 coats with a foam roller
4) lightly sand the primer if you get bits of dirt/hair etc on the tile. it happens quite a bit when painting the floor.
5) painted the tiles and grout with melamine paint in my base color (i used Sico Pale Birch). applied 2 thin coats with a foam roller. letting them dry a minimum of 16 hours between coats. you could put a 3rd if you like.
6) once the base coat was dry, i then taped off every other tile to keep the grout line
Yes, you can paint over the grout provided that you have cleaned it first.
I was wondering if anyone had ever painted over those smaller tiles that are on bathroom floors of older homes? Since it is the floor I didn't know if there was something different that needed to be used due to wear from walking on the tiles? I had thought about a glaze on top of a primer but I wasn't sure so let me know if anyone has had any experience with this? Thanks Angie Travis
what was the answer to this question? can u paint over grout?
Do you paint right over the grout?
I thought I had to rip this tile out. I am tired of the peach tile that I have. Thanks for the information.
My Idea is same as Kim Ray.
i am sooo glad that i found out that i could paint my bathroom tile!!!!....my husband and i just bought our first house and both of the bathrooms have the most God-awful mustard yellow tiles you can imagine!!....by painting the tiles we can save thousands and maybe now i can convice him to get me a bigger bath tub with the money we will save! :)
I didn't realize ceramic tiles could be painted. Great information!