Painting Ceramic Tile? Yes!
Does painting ceramic tile work or is it a disaster waiting for a place to happen?
It does work and if you're sick of a drab or out-dated tile color, painting is a good option. The option is certainly much cheaper than replacing the tile. Remember too that with the right mastic you can put new tile right over old tile! But painting is a lot cheaper than that too. And you can use whatever color you choose plus color combinations you could never duplicate with new tile.
You can transform the look of your interior with a ceramic tile painting project.
Painting ceramic tile will work if you clean the tile well and use the correct paint. Painting ceramic tile in areas like showers where moisture is high for extended time will not work. The paint will peel. So only paint ceramic tile where it doesn't get wet constantly. Do not paint tile in showers or around bathtubs. Walls, floors, countertops or other surfaces will work.
The first step before you paint is to thoroughly clean the tile surface and grout. You must remove soap film, dirt, grease, oil, mold and really deep clean. The cleaner the surface the better the paint will stick. You can use a household ammonia cleaner to remove soap and grease. Choose an abrasive bathroom cleaner made especially for cleaning these surfaces. Maybe follow up with an acid cleaner made for removing grout from tile.
The best paint for painting ceramic tile will be oil-based paint. Start with a coat of an appropriate primer like Zinsser's. Then choose a semi-gloss or high gloss finish paint. Thin the paint if you have trouble brushing or rolling. Be careful to mask any areas where you don't want paint, since the oil-based paint will be difficult to remove from adjoining surfaces.
Allow the paint to dry for about three days before using painted surfaces.
Think about floors and counter tops. Most painted surfaces are easily damaged, under the best conditions. So you would expect paint on counter tops to be damaged very quickly. Floors too. But wood floors with new urethane finishes hold up well for years. Here's a trick. Coat your cured ceramic tile paint finish with water-based urethane. Oil-based urethane will discolor over time. Use water-based. Urethane will stick well to paint and will protect your painted ceramic tile just like it does floors.
Use lots of colors. Paint trims with contrasting colors. Even paint individual tiles for decorative effects.
Remember to repair damage before you paint. Epoxy works well for chips and small cracks. Use caulk on larger cracks. For cracks wider than a caulk bead, use backer rods below the caulk.
You can transform the look of a room by painting ceramic tile or your entire house with paint on ceramic tile. But plan ahead and do very careful cleaning and preparation.