is it possible to cover ugly old ceramic tile?

[dbrowsh]

We have yellow and black ceramic tile in our primary bathroom that we do not enjoy. I've thought of covering it with wainscotting (kind of a big project for us), tearing it out or trying to cover it. I've searched on line a couple of times for any products out there and come up with nothing. A friend of a friend once mentioned "some guy" who could cover (with some paint-like substance) old tile for an updated look. Has anyone heard of this? Or does anyone know of some other alternative? Thanks!

[Jimmer]

dbrowsh,

Because you said 'wainscoting' I assume that the tile you are describing is on the walls. The fact that this is your primary bathroom also leads me to assume a fair amount of traffic/usage. I have painted tiles and have never been happy with the long term look, they get scratched too easy and it looks like exactly what you have done... which is paint over tile. Installing wainscot with a proper top cap (some might call it chair rail ) and new baseboards would give you a great new look. The wainscot can be installed using a good construction adhesive.

I hope this helps, Jim


'Just a handyman trying to help'

[painter]

Painted tile will look like painted tile.
No question about that.

However, if you still want to paint over ceramic tile here is the technical answer.

First, surface preparation is critical.
The surface must be free of soap film, grout sealers, oil, wax and grease.
Second, use a water based BONDING primer and the best acrylic topcoat you can afford.
It is important that the primer be a BONDING primer.
These products develop adhesion as they cure so it can take as long as a week before they develop scrape resistance.

[PamAltmanca]

I painted my ugly, broken lavender bathroom tiles a few years ago with Tile-Doc. It lasted, but never looked like real tile. So I decided to plaster the whole room, and it worked. I used "Sheetrock" All-Purpose Lightweight Joint Compound to make a highly textured finish (like houses in Greece), primed it with a Zinsser primer, then painted it bright white. Now you can't tell that the ugly broken lavender tiles were ever there. The whole room, including ceiling is plastered and it looks great. I suppose that if you were working with bare tile, you might have to prime it before plastering it.

[handyandy]

What did you do where the tiles would get wet? Like around the shower or tub? Did you plaster there too? Do you have a picture? We'd love to see it!

Welcome to the forum!

[PamAltmanca]

Hi (RE plaster around tub)
I did plaster around the tub and caulked it. But I've ordered 2
X 2 inch Talavera tiles from Mexico (which haven't arrived yet) that match my Talavera sink (which I haven't put in yet). I'll put the tiles all around the bathtub edge and recaulk. Then I have to varathane the sink cabinet, install the sink, install brass faucets, and put in a Moroccan brass mirror where the old wrecked medicine cabinet was. I also have Talavera switchplate and outlet covers, and am going to put 4 X4 inch Talavera tiles around the window. The whole project is taking forever, but I hope the overall effect will be Spanish, Moroccan, or Mexican? I don't have pictures but will take some when I'm finished.
Thanks! As you can probably guess, I'm an amateur!