Painting Ceramic Tile

[MarineBob]

We've got a bathroom in our vacation home that has tile walls and shower/tub area that are in essentially perfect condition. They have been there since the late '60's but apparently were installed in a first rate manner. One of the neighbors started taking them down in his house and quit.....too much effort for a part time summer house. Anyway, for those who recall, the 60's had some of the world's funkiest colors and ours is some sort of tanish-pink. Kind of gross and dingy looking. Not wanting to go crazy with effort and cost I have pretty much decided to do some upgrade by painting the tiles and doing a refinish in white for the tub. I am looking for some experience based recommendations. Specific questions I am hoping someone has experience with: Scuffing the tiles? Is it necessary? I tried some diamond paper on scrap tiles and that works well, if a bit expensive for the paper. Can you scuff with silicon carbide paper? What kind of primer? INSLX stuff from Ben-Morre seems to get a lot of recommendations? any other ideas? Is a foam roller the way to go? How about the tub itself? There are lots of 'favorites' and I am wondering if there are any thoughts here? How about the top coat for the walls? With a good primer, would a good quality high gloss white be OK? Or is epoxy needed? The shower is not used heavily. Most of the summer when we use the property, the outdoors shower is used. Any ideas would be appreciated

 

[MarineBob]

We've got a bathroom in our vacation home that has tile walls and shower/tub area that are in essentially perfect condition. They have been there since the late '60's but apparently were installed in a first rate manner. One of the neighbors started taking them down in his house and quit.....too much effort for a part time summer house. Anyway, for those who recall, the 60's had some of the world's funkiest colors and ours is some sort of tanish-pink. Kind of gross and dingy looking. Not wanting to go crazy with effort and cost I have pretty much decided to do some upgrade by painting the tiles and doing a refinish in white for the tub. I am looking for some experience based recommendations. Specific questions I am hoping someone has experience with: Scuffing the tiles? Is it necessary? I tried some diamond paper on scrap tiles and that works well, if a bit expensive for the paper. Can you scuff with silicon carbide paper? What kind of primer? INSLX stuff from Ben-Morre seems to get a lot of recommendations? any other ideas? Is a foam roller the way to go? How about the tub itself? There are lots of 'favorites' and I am wondering if there are any thoughts here? How about the top coat for the walls? With a good primer, would a good quality high gloss white be OK? Or is epoxy needed? The shower is not used heavily. Most of the summer when we use the property, the outdoors shower is used. Any ideas would be appreciated

The other day I got to talk with folks in a Sherwin Williams store about ceramic painting. The suggestion I got was to use one of the etch products before painting with a bonding primer. Then top coat with anything, other then the shower area, ought to use epoxy paint. The idea of etch vs. diamond sanding is to be sure you do not end up with any sanding scratches

 

[MarineBob]

Still not there but I think I have a plan. I did some testing from prep to finish and here is what I found. Sanding to break the ceramic glaze. Probably not a great idea. I painted on a primer over the scuffed surface and even with 120 diamond grit paper the scratches telegraphed through the paint. Maybe a finer grit might be ok but the diamond paper is very expensive. Next prep attempt was with an acid solution. I bought a $25 jar of some sort of green acid etch solution and that stuff seems to work really well. Its not instantaneous but takes 15-20 minutes, maybe quicker if it were warmer? Once its washed off, it takes off the glaze from the tiles without much more than just breaking the shiny glaze. I think that's what I am going to go with. I got a recommendation from a paint shop guy the acid etch was the best choice. Looks like a good choice. Then for the primer. I am not sure which bonding primer is the right one. Seems every body has their favorite so I guess as long as its a bonding primer, that is the choice. For the top coat: I got a couple inputs. Paint shop guys said once you got a good primer, put on what ever paint you want. I am looking at a gloss white enamel. There is some difference of opinion for the actual shower area itself where some folks say only use a 2 part epoxy, others say with the good primer, any good top coat is OK. So for a top coat I bought a quart of Rustoleum marine top coat deck paint. That stuff has lots of solid recommendations for salt water boat decks, people using it for bathrooms and about anything else you can think of. I put a coat of this stuff on a couple of practice tiles with a foam brush and it pretty much leveled itself very easily. The dried surface is almost mirror like and feels hard and smooth the day after application. I am pretty much convinced this is my choice. Many reviews say it was applied with a foam roller and I got to think it will level quickly and nicely. I thought about spraying but I got to imagine that will have lots of volatiles and take a while to clear out. Considering the roller approach seems to work well, that'll be my choice. This paint sets up in about 4-5 hours to touch in 55-60 deg temps so when it warms up some should be dried to touch in several hours. Wont get to the project for a month or so but I hope I can post some pics and details of the project

 

[Stanley services]

Hi, Make sure the grouting is clean. Rub down the shiny ceramic tiles with a fine 180 grit sandpaper to dampen the glossy nature of the substrate. Use an orbital sander for this process to save time. Then use a 2 part ultra grit primer, preferably epoxy based, then use an oil based flexible, exterior undercoat, then a flexible oil based exterior top coat in the tint and colour of your choice. Painting tiles or melamine is always a difficult task as (just like silicon) these substates are not designed for paint. If it's a shower enclosure, the walls would be subjected to high traffic in terms of people and running water plus a heat differential. No amount of preparatory work will fully protect a painted finish on tiles, even if you use a specific tile paint. Please make sure the silicon is removed prior to painting, sorry to state the obvious.

 

[MarineBob]

I've been testing on some tiles glued up on a sheet of plywood. I tried the sanding approach and by the time I got some scuff to the glaze, I got sanding scratches that primer wouldn't cover. Then I tried some tile etch which seems easier. Apply it with a scotch brite pad, 10-15 mins, wash it off and it does a nice job to break the glaze. I think thats my preferred approach. I got some good input on Inslx bonding primer. Aside from an epoxy, it seems like a strong recommended primer. I'm still working out a good application approach but Rustoleum TopSide deck paint has shown some good promise. Its got a solid reputation for taking even salt water abuse. Our shower area does not get a lot of use, outdoor showers all summer, so I am hoping it might hold up in that area. I have no doubt the epoxy would be the best choice but for some easier application the single stage products are getting some good recommendations. One thing surprised me is how tenacious the grime is on the tiles in the shower area. I guess 45 years even on what looks pretty clean does want to stick to the tiles.