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n2cookin

Can tile be painted?

n2cookin
15 years ago

I've heard of people painting bathtubs and appliances, so can you paint tile? I have a one-tile backsplash I hate, but ripping it out might seriously damage the drywall.

Comments (14)

  • creekylis
    15 years ago

    I had to laugh when I saw your post because I read your little side comment joking about painting your tile in your other thread. :)

    I think you can, hon... with the right primer, you can paint just about anything these days... especially if it won't get much wear and tear. I seem to remember old neighbors of mine painting an entire wall of tile in their laundry room.

    What's the existing tile made of, texture, etc?

  • igloochic
    15 years ago

    You can buy ceramic tile paints at Michaels (or on the net) that are specifically made to paint tile. They give you the same sheen as a tile would have. Using regular paint will look really bad :( But I'd prime first (they make one for tile) and then paint the tile...and then I'd paint the grout to freshen it all up (there is grout paint on the market..since you're going to paint the tile, do the grout first cuz you can be messier that way) then do the tile with ceramic tile paint.

    And finish with a clear coat to seal it all :)

  • graywritingdog
    15 years ago

    I've seen tile painted on TV (designed to sell) they always bring in professionals and they call it reglazing the tiles.

  • n2cookin
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Heck, Creeky, I'm always coming up with something I think I NEED to do. One project always leads to another. I need to STOP! I need to finish one project instead of creating 6 more, ha.

    The tile is as slick as....snot. It's the cheap tile that's about 4x4. Part of me wants to get a flathead screwdriver and keep picking at one until it pops off. "look honey, one of our tiles fell off, gee, that looks really bad, maybe I should pull all the others off too" (while holding the screwdriver behind my back) LOL!!

  • sholt576
    15 years ago

    My friends painted theirs just as if they were painting a wall. In my house there was a thin strip of tile where they took the backsplash tile all the way to the floor on the breakfast room side of the kitchen penninsula (yes, it goes all the way to the ceiling also). I painted the part from the countertops to the floor just as if it were part of the wall.

    I've considered painting the entire backsplash but I'd do it all one color as if it were a wall, not painting in the grout lines and such. Instead, I decided to hang pictures on it with some type of stick on velcro product.

    A bit of color in the sea of white.

  • ladyamity
    15 years ago

    Keep in mind this was done at a time when we had some major financial things going on and noooo money to replace the entryway flooring that was not only chipped and cracked but large chunks were missing from the tile making the area dangerous.

    My solution---
    Paint tiles.

    These have been walked on for almost 5 years now, washed with cleaners and had a new fridge pulled across it.

    It was supposed to be a temporary fix but replacing the entryway floor keeps moving down the list.
    We'll get to it ----
    When the M.Bath, M.Bedroom, Family Rm, Sunroom and Kitchen get finished. :)

    What I'm saying is --- If it works on floors it should certainly work on a backsplash.

  • n2cookin
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    amity, that floor looks NICE! What kind of paint did you use?

  • cheerit
    15 years ago

    Yes, please post!! I would love to know not only what paint you used but what colors (and how you did it). Your floors look BEAUTIFUL! Julie

  • oceanna
    15 years ago

    From what I've read, the problem with painting tile is water... they advise you not to paint tile where there will be a lot of water. A backsplash doesn't stand wet like a countertop would. So yes I'd say paint a backsplash. A counter? I'm not so sure that would be durable enough.

  • nhb22
    15 years ago

    There are special paints to use.

    Take a look at the following bathroom. My DD was looking at this house and the tiles are sprayed with a granite looking tile paint, Looks very nice!

    {{!gwi}}

  • PRO
    Lori A. Sawaya
    15 years ago

    XIM has Tile Doc. They recommend professional use only, but I bet their tech support would help you out. The two-step Tile Doc can be tinted in *pastel* colors. The aerosol Tile Doc is one step and only comes in white. Sherwin Williams usually carries the XIM products.

    Here is a link that might be useful: XIM Tile DOC aerosol

  • bonnie925
    15 years ago

    We had the tiles in our materbath reglazed by a professional. It was very reasonable and a way to do away with the pink tiles without breaking the bank. Look in the Yellow Pages under "Tile Reglazing."

  • hokeypokey
    15 years ago

    Amity --

    I love your floor! Can you tell us what you used on it?

  • daisyadair
    15 years ago

    You can use the "tub and tile" kit by Rustoleum and treat the tiles using the same method as you would a bathtub. I did my kids tub years ago and it still looks really good.

    My husband just recently replaced some accent tiles in my bathroom. He used an air hammer to knock them out and then filled in behind them with mastic rather than replace any drywall. It's not complicated but it is time consuming.