Madalynn Dudley
Using this paint is an easy and inexpensive way to update tile floors and walls – even for high traffic areas! It’s a great trick for a temporary makeover, to buy time before a renovation, or simply to update old tile you’re not ready to replace. Throughout this post, you’ll see photos of our entryway at the lake (once a 90s green tile) and then our most recent St. Louis primary bathroom. I hope that our detailed efforts will provide you with the most complete, comprehensive guide to tile paint on the internet!
Several years back, we purchased a lake cottage full of charm – and some 90’s features like hunter green tile. The green entryway tile started to feel more and more out of place and was central to our open floor plan.
It was also infringing on our “white” walls and furniture – so that’s when we knew we had to change it, even if only temporarily before we could replace the flooring in this space. We wanted to update the space for the time being as we save for a long term renovation, giving us a cleaner, brighter look that we love! For our small entryway it was a quick project with a lot of downtime to allow the primer and paint to properly dry and cure between coats.
I highly recommend INSL-X Waterborne Bonding Primer STIX because it adheres to hard to coat surfaces and is very durable.
It’s the perfect solution for dated tile in an entryway, kitchen, laundry room, mudroom, bathroom floors – yes, even high traffic areas! As you can see, we decided to paint over the grout lines for ease and a monotone finish, but you can tape to retain them if you prefer.
Even with a crowbar (which we used when we eventually removed this tile for new flooring), the paint finish on our lake entry did not chip! You’ll want to choose a high quality product specifically meant for ceramic tile.
An enamel is very durable and stain resistant so it can handle a lot of wear in high traffic areas.
Latex paint is not a good fit for this project as it won’t stand up to the wear and tear.
Rinse clean (ideally, you can use an after wash product as noted in the supply section above) and allow to dry. Roll on your paint, starting with the farthest corners of your space and working your way towards the door as you exit.
This might be a good idea if you’re working with a high moisture area, but we haven’t felt that we’ve needed it thus far! Ensure that you’ve filled in our replaced any bad grouting, as the tile paint won’t cover damaged areas!
It helps buff any shine out of the tile, leaving you with a surface that is better able to accept the primer and paint.
