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Give tile new life by painting it

By TIM CARTER Special to the Times
Published January 27, 2007

Q: I am thinking about painting the ceramic tile on the floor and walls of several rooms in my home. Is this a reasonable idea? My husband thinks this is folly.

A: This is a very reasonable idea. The job will cost less than what you and your husband would spend for dinner at a fine restaurant. He's going to be ordering some crow, followed by a large helping of humble pie.

You can paint any ceramic tile that won't be routinely exposed to lots of water: floor, wall and countertop tile. The only tile I would never paint is the ceramic tile in a shower or above a bathtub. The high levels of moisture in these areas will cause most paints to peel from ceramic tile.

The first step is to deep-clean the ceramic tile and grout. You must remove all dirt, oil, wax, grease, mold and so forth. I would use a bathroom cleaner that contains a mild abrasive for this task. The cleaner you get the tile, the better chance you have of overall success.

Repair chips in the tile before you paint using quick-drying epoxies. Caulk all cracks as well. Be sure the caulk cures for several days before you paint it. Some water-based caulks will shrink if you squirt them into wide or deep cracks. Use caulking backer rod, if necessary, to fill deep cracks. Generally speaking, a bead of caulk should only be as deep as the caulk bead is wide.

All paints are simply glues with color in them. Glues prefer to stick to surfaces that are squeaky clean. They stick even better if the surface is slightly rough.

I have had fantastic results over the years painting ceramic tile with oil-based paint. It is getting harder to find this paint because of environmental issues, but rest assured, it really sticks to things once it has dried and cured. Water-based paints peel readily from glazed ceramic tile surfaces. You may have great success with epoxy paints, but test these in a small area, as they might be hard to use the first time.

Use a semi-gloss or high-gloss paint for the job. If the paint is thick or hard to brush or roll, use a little paint thinner to dilute it slightly. Always follow the directions on the paint can label about the maximum amount of thinner you can add.

Use masking tape to protect adjacent surfaces. Use tapes with less aggressive acrylic adhesives so they don't damage the surface when they are removed.

Decorative painting on ceramic tile is easy. You can have fun with stencils or two-tone paint designs. Stenciling over the finish paint will allow you to create borders on walls, floors or countertops. Let your imagination run wild, and experiment on a small section of ceramic tile. If you don't like what you see, start over. And when you grow tired of the design, you can paint over it.

Once the finish paint has dried for two or three days, give it two coats of clear, water-based urethane. The urethane is very sticky and will adhere to the fresh oil paint. Avoid using oil-based urethane. Many of them have a tendency to develop a golden patina over time. You may find the amber color of this patina objectionable. The water-based urethanes stay clear forever.

The urethane is an integral part of the paint job. Most urethanes are very hard and resist water and foot traffic or abuse from plates, glasses and cookware on countertops. You may have observed how good a job urethanes do protecting hardwood floor finishes for years. They do the same for painted surfaces. This is especially true for painted ceramic tile floors. The urethane finish will protect the colorful paint and provide you with years of beauty. Thousands of basketball courts are living proof that painted floors can handle abuse and still look good with minimal care.

Don't shy away from using multiple colors when painting your ceramic tile. Creating geometric patterns by painting individual tiles different colors can yield stunning results. You can also paint stripes or borders with ease. On large tile floors, a border can be designed to complement the placement of a large area rug in the center of a room or a runner carpet in a hallway.

Tim Carter is a licensed contractor. To view previous columns or tap into his archive of information and sources of building materials, visit Ask the Builder on the Web at www.askthebuilder.com. You can write to Tim Carter at P.O. Box 36352, Cincinnati, OH 45236-0352.

[Last modified January 26, 2007, 21:07:42]