If your tiles become old and dreary, you can simply bring back its brightness to that particular area by painting the floor tiles with some beautiful colours of your choice. Any type of tiles can be painted as long as you make the effort to clean them thoroughly so that they are clean from grout, greases, oils or dirt off; and do your painting work according to instructions that comes with the paint can from its manufacturer. Below are some of the steps that you can follow for painting floor tiles.
What you need:
- Abrasive cleanser
- Scrub brush
- 220-grit sandpaper
- Painter\’s tape
- Shellac-based or alkyd (oil-based) primer
- Denatured alcohol (if using shellac)
- Alkyd paint (high gloss or semi-gloss)
- Mineral spirits
- Paint roller
- Paintbrush
- Paint tray
- Clear floor finish (water-based urethane)
Method:
- First of all, you have to clean the floor thoroughly by using an abrasive cleanser and a scrub brush. Make sure to remove any mildew that found on any of the floor. Apart from that, you need to also repair any cracked tiles and crumbling grout that you notice on the floor. If the need arise for you to re-grout, you need to do it before any painting is done on the tile because paint will be damaged if you do re-grouting.
- For glossy type of tiles, you need to sand them first using 220-grit sandpaper and when finish, clean the floor again to remove all of the dust acquired from the sanding process. If you do not want to paint the grout, you can use a tape over the grout lines with a blue painter\’s tape. To make your paint job easier, it is recommended that you paint the floor with one colour and if you decide to paint the grout, it should be left to dry for at least 48 hours before you starts to do the painting task of your floor.
- Always make sure to tape over any area that you do not want to paint such as wallpaper and trim. The next step is for you to apply a coat of primer where you can use either a shellac-based primer or an alkyd (oil-based) primer. Then, apply the coat of primer for the second time but make sure that the first layer of coat has dried thoroughly.
- Once it has dried, you can lightly rub the primer using 220-grit sandpaper for removing any bumps that might occurred during your coating exercise before you starts to prepare the surface for your painting work.
- Your floor tiles can be painted by using a coat of semi-gloss or high-gloss alkyd paint. Ensure that use a suitable brush when you come across corners and near walls before proceeding with the whole floor with your paint roller. In order to get the right results and your preferred look, you need to apply several thin coats and also allow each of the coats to dry thoroughly before you apply the next coat.
- Finally, you have to allow the paint to cure for several days and after that apply several coats of clear floor finish such as water-based urethane finish. This method need to be applied with several thin coats whereby after one coat has dried thoroughly, apply another one so that you will get good results.
Additional Reading:
http://www.askthebuilder.com/723_How_To_Paint_Ceramic_Tile.shtml
http://www.thenewhomemaker.com/how-to-paint-tile
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/paintceramictile
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/painting-ceramic-floor-tiles-how-to-paint-ceramic-tiles.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_4798023_paint-ceramic-tile-floor.html
Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/callipygian/1190217801/
