What is tile paint?

Tile paint is a paint specifically developed to be applied directly to existing tiles. This paint offers excellent adhesion to smooth, non-porous surfaces like ceramic tiles, allowing you to completely transform your interior without disruptive demolition work. It's a cost-effective and quick way to refresh kitchens, bathrooms, and other tiled areas.

The composition of tile paint ensures a hard-wearing and water-resistant finish, essential for heavily used areas that frequently come into contact with moisture. By using the right primer and topcoat, you create a durable result that lasts for years. The range includes various colours and finishes, so there's always an option to match your personal style.

Benefits & applications of tile paint

Painting tiles offers numerous advantages over traditional tiling. One of the biggest benefits is the significant saving in time and costs, as demolition and repair work become unnecessary. Furthermore, it's a more environmentally friendly choice, as you produce less waste.

A new look without chiselling and demolition

With tile paint, you can easily change the look of your bathroom, kitchen, or toilet without having to remove the tiles. This avoids a lot of dust, debris, and inconvenience. You can choose from a wide range of colours to create the desired atmosphere, from modern and sleek to classic and warm.

Durability and hygiene

Modern tile paints are extremely hard-wearing, scratch-resistant, and highly resistant to moisture and mould, making them ideal for intensively used and damp areas such as the bathroom. The seamless finish ensures that dirt and bacteria are less likely to adhere, which improves hygiene. This makes cleaning your walls and floors much easier.

Applications for every room

Tile paint is widely applicable. Here are some common uses:

Bathroom: perfect for refreshing wall tiles and even floor tiles. Choose a high-quality, water-resistant tile paint that can withstand condensation and splashes.

Kitchen: give your splashback or kitchen floor a new colour that matches your interior. The paint is resistant to grease, food residue, and is easy to wipe clean.

Toilet: a quick and effective way to give a small toilet a fresh and modern look.

Painting floor tiles: with the right preparation and a strong, hard-wearing floor paint, you can also renew floor tiles, even in heavily used areas.

Which paint do you choose when?

The choice of the right tile paint depends on the room and the type of tile you want to treat. It is crucial to choose a system that is suitable for the stress and humidity of the room in question.

The foundation: a good primer

An essential step for painting tiles is applying an adhesion primer. Tiles are smooth, non-porous surfaces where ordinary paint has difficulty adhering. A special primer ensures optimal adhesion of the tile paint and increases the durability of the end result. Look for primers suitable for smooth surfaces.

Topcoat for the finish

After the primer comes the topcoat. This determines the colour, gloss level, and ultimate protection of your tiles.

For wall tiles in the bathroom and kitchen: choose a paint that is highly resistant to moisture and easily washable. A scrub-resistant wall paint is an excellent choice here.

For floor tiles: floor tiles require an extremely hard-wearing and robust paint. A 2-component (2K) floor paint based on epoxy or polyurethane is ideal for this, as it undergoes a chemical reaction and forms a very hard and durable layer. These paints are resistant to heavy foot traffic, chemicals, and moisture.

Always ensure that the primer and topcoat are compatible with each other for the best results.

Brief step-by-step plan: painting tiles

Successfully painting tiles requires careful preparation. Follow this concise step-by-step plan for a sleek and durable result:

Clean and degrease: thoroughly clean and degrease the tiles to remove all dirt, grease, and soap residue. This is crucial for primer adhesion.

Sanding: lightly sand the tiles with fine sandpaper (e.g., grit 220) to slightly roughen the surface. This significantly improves primer adhesion. Vacuum and degrease again after sanding.

Masking: carefully mask all edges, sealant joints, and objects that should not be painted with painter's tape.

Apply primer: apply a suitable adhesion primer in one or two thin coats. Allow the primer to dry completely according to the instructions on the packaging. This is a crucial step for smooth surfaces like tiles.

First coat of tile paint: apply the first coat of tile paint. Work carefully and evenly.

Sanding between coats (optional): light sanding between coats can lead to an even smoother final result, especially for floor tiles.

Second coat of tile paint: apply the second coat of tile paint for optimal coverage and durability.

Remove tape: remove the painter's tape while the paint is still wet to ensure clean lines.

Curing: allow the paint to cure sufficiently before the room is used intensively. The drying time is indicated on the packaging.