Painting My Grout

15 years ago

Hello everyone,

I'm new at mosaic art, and this is my first post. I looked everywhere before I found this forum!

I used stained glass to do mosiacs, and white grout. I use white grout because I prefer to paint my grout a shimmery color that accents my piece. I've seen this done by other artists, and I think it is beautiful.

My problem is that I have been using acrylic paint (sometimes thinned, sometimes not) and it doesn't work well at all. The paint does not adhere to the grout and it dries very splotchy and ugly looking.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Am I using the wrong kind of paint? Or the wrong kind of grout maybe?

Thank you to anyone who can help me!

Comments (7)

daisyme
15 years ago
Hey, MRSB! Glad you joined the forum with a post. Welcome! I can't answer your question, as I've never used those supplies, but if anyone here knows, they will for sure answer you. This is a great group of people, and very helpful. We'd love to see some of your work. Post a photo or two soon, ok? It'd be fun to see what you're up to.
theeggshelllady
15 years ago
Hi, I've never tried painting grout befor, but maybe if you tried using gesso or another primer on the grout befor painting it may help. good luck. I'll bet the shimmery color is pretty.
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lovemosaics
15 years ago
I always use the cheap acrylic paints and they work great. I never water them down though. They make the piece
seem really finished and sealed looking. I paint it on thick, and give it a couple minutes, and wipe the glass.
Never had a problem!..sorry to hear that isn't working for you! You might need to put it on a little more heavy, and let it soak in. I do mine about an hour or so after a project, don't know if that matters. Are you using sanded grout? That might be the problem? Sanded works great with
paints!
mrsb73
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you thank you thank you! I think I am using non-sanded grout. Yikes! I'll try using full strenth acrylic with sanded grout. And I'll post a picture of a before and after! Thanks again.
silvamae
15 years ago
Hi and welcome. I think your problem has already been identified - I do not like unsanded grout at all. I paint all my grout (sanded grout) using acrylic paints (the brand I happen to use is Ceramcoat by Delta) and I do not have a problem. The method of application that works best for me is to sponge on the paint using natural sea sponges. Somehow that works better than a brush. I squirt the paint into a jar lid, dip in the dampened sponge, dab all over the mosaic piece, wait until the paint is almost dry, then scrub the tesserae with a damp terrycloth rag. Hope this helps!
gretch1964
15 years ago
I use white sand grout and add my paint right to the grout. I mix the grout first then add the color i want to the grout. It works great.
ajilofmanycrafts
15 years ago
Hi, I'm new to this group and mosaics also. I read in one
of my books: to mix the acrylic paint with the grout,sounds
like that makes it a little easier than painting it on.
Good luck from one beginner to another beginner.