Has anyone painted tiles with success? All my internet searches show sites that are basically advertising the White Knight product and of course, all the tiles look fabulous. What I want to know is what they REALLY look like when you have painted over them? Do they look like regular tiles, or do they look like you have painted over tiles?
I just want to redo the splashback in my kitchen (about 2sq metres) but we are going to build a new kitchen in a couple of years so don't want to really spend much money at this stage. The current tiles are a cream and are inoffensive, but very boring.
Cheers
K
I imagine it would come down to how well the paint goes on smoothly and the consistency so that it drys smooth and shiny. You could consider prepping the area with masking tape, cleaning etc then hire a pro spray painter for an hour as those spray guns can be tricky to get right.
I have not done tiles but just guessing this would be one way! I have restored wash troughs with a white goods tin spray can with mixed results a couple of runs but overall satisfied. Key is getting the film on as mentioned so no runs and drys shiny.
I did a re-spray on the tiles in my shower area and bath ten years ago, still perfect today. I was a bit of a sceptic, but have since taken a new outlook. It was a professional group/ company that did this, not DIY.
likewise, I’ve had baths resprayed both insitu & factory finished but not tiles. Finish has been good but not cheap. As for paint, I handpainted a bath, finish was fine provided you minimise paint runs, fumes are a bit strong though.
If you want an acceptable alternative, try something like Aluclad, prefinished compressed fibro or tile patterned board – all which can be glued over the existing tiles.
I've answered my own question by going out and actually painting the tiles. I used White Knight Tile paint on the splashback in the kitchen. It is a three step process, all using White Knight products; cleaner, primer and then paint.
I'm really happy with the result. I changed the colour from a cream to a bright apple green and it looks fantastic. I think the trick is to use all three products (even if you think you can save a couple of bucks by using a cheaper brand of a similar product). I used the best quality paintbrush I could buy to minimise the brush strokes. I think if you want a smooth glossy tiled look then painting over the tiles is not a great idea, but if the area you are looking to tile would still look good with a bit of a "handpainted look" then painting tiles could be the way to go. In some lights I can see the brushstrokes but standing back, they just look like green porcelain tiles.
The total cost was $100 and I think was excellent money spent.
Cheers
K
Linar, it would of been cheaper to re tile the area than paint it to "save money"….. Just a thought.
Solomon10 wrote:Linar, it would of been cheaper to re tile the area than paint it to "save money"….. Just a thought.No it wouldn't. A tiler charges a minimum of $40 per square metre. On top of that would be the cost of the tiles and grout and the labour for removing the tiles and prepping the surface. There would have been extra costs for cutting fiddly tiles. And, contrary to popular belief about the GFC affecting building, the tradies I know are busier than ever, so it would have been next to impossible to get a tiler in for such a small job.
A mate of mine who is a tiler is booked out until February next year. And we are about to start an extension to our house and several of the tradies we used for the reno we did 12 months ago aren't even interested in quoting because the job isn't big enough. And we are only keeping our kitchen for another couple of years before we build a new one so it just didn't seem worthwhile to retile.
But enough about me. My post was really just to let readers of the forum know the finished product of painting tiles.
Cheers
K
Fair comment, i was working on the assumption of diy, can pick up tiles for around 10-15 dollars a square meter plus a small bag of grout. Each to their own, good luck with your extension!
I have used a product called ESP which looks like a varnish to paint on the tile to make it more adhesive to the paint – wasn't
overly impressed so wouldnt recommend it
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