I have old white ceramic tiles on my kitchen countertops and want to paint them.?

Question

went to DIY and found a painting your countertops but cant seem to find products used: Insul-X brand to adhere paint and TSP to clean tiles first.

Answer 1

last issue of 'this old house" had an article about painting ceramic tiles.  If you can't find the article, let me know and I'll type it in for you.  [e-mail]

Answer 2

To the best of my knowledge, paint will not stick to glazed ceramic tiles. At the very least, you will need to sand the glazing off. I have known people to paint wall tiles in the bathroom with okay results, but I don't think that any store bought paint will hold up on a kitchen counter. I did know a guy who had a business painting counter tops, but he used a proprietary paint and I could never get him to tell me where he got it or what was in it. I suspect it was an epoxy though.

My best guess for a counter top would be to sand the glazing off, spray with 2 coats of enamel, and clear coat it.

You would be better off covering the tile with a laminate. You can buy sheets of it at a local home center. It is only 1/8 thick, can easily be glued and trimmed to fit, and will look better in the long run, and be cheaper and easier than tiling. It may actually cost less than painting. You can get solid color laminate as well as marbled and other color patterns. If I were doing this, I might glue and s***w 1/8 plywood over the tile before doing this just to get a perfectly flat surface.. For directions, go to: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/h2lamin...

Answer 3

Susan Susan Susan, you don't paint tiles, nor do you want them for a countertop surface.  I don't know who first introduced this or the fools were that adopted it into kitchen counters, but they should be banished.  Laminates not expensive. . . do yourself a favor and remove and replace this unsightly germ and bacteria breeding ground.

Mike Lonergan

TradesProfessional, Inc.

Answer 4

Oh God, don't paint ceramic tiles.  They will look fine for a week or so, then chips will begin to happen, and within two months you will have a chipped, flaky mess!!

It is not hard to retile a kitchen.  I have done that and a bathroom a couple of times.  New tile will be so much better.  Just get small tile, because that is the easiest to cut with a hand cutting tool.

You can get tips from your local hardware store that sells tile.