Preparing to sell questions: Tiles

Hi just have a few questions as we're renovating to sell.

The bathroom tiles are a dated marble-look light grey. Not awful, but not great. We'll at least re-grout but wondering whether we should consider tile painting?

At the entrance to the front door there's some ugly brown tiles - again wondering if we should paint or tile over the top? What would people recommend for outdoor tiles?

 

Tile paint is awesome (I feel like half my posts on SS/PC have been spruiking tile paint!) Like all painting, prep is the key. Clean well, undercoat, then 2 thin top coats, with an optional very light sand between the top coats. I've always used a brush and they come up great.

 

That's great to hear, thanks. Do you DIY or pay for re grout first to ensure it's even and no bits worn down? And what's your secret to getting it 100% clean before starting?

 

I'm a big fan of tile paint too - it looks amazing. The tile paint goes straight over the grout unless you're super anal/careful, so regrout first. Or just put lots of paint in any holes

 

Great to hear, thanks! What do you recommend to get the tiles super clean before you start? I've heard there's some acid thing? Sounds crazy...

And what about the floor tiles - I think we'll just re grout - is that a DIY for a novice?

 

Tile paint seems to be pretty good.
It's all in the preparation apparently, like a lot of things.

 

Sugar soap, then rinse well. Let it dry properly.

Never done a "regrout".

 

Painting interior floor tiles is not recommended unless its a product applied by a professional resurfacer. Even then they generally won't do it unless its an area where no furniture will be located eg bathroom, toilet, laundry (and probably your entry way, @S-Star !) However, wall tile painting is very common as others have said. I'm interested to see who here has successfully DIY painted floor tiles. Did it last?
Wall tile painting is fantastic and you don't need to buy the proprietary tile paint systems; in fact you just need a specialist tile primer and then a few top coats of a standard enamel paint (apply as per @wobblycarly instructions ). I always recommend an oil based enamel top coat to my clients as you get a much higher gloss level and it looks more tile-like than just a paint job over tiles. Also, just be careful of the colour you use; when you paint over tiles, you're also painting the grout at the same time and this can look weird unless you use a white/off-white/light grey etc.
I've tiled over existing floor tiles many many times and it is a great solution most of the time. The existing tiles do need to be perfectly flat. You also need to consider how the adjacent surfaces will be affected; for instance different floor levels, the join between the new floor tiles and the existing skirting boards or tiles. Lots of little things to consider which can end up in budget blow outs if too many problems occur during the renovation process due to lack of foresight. Good luck with the reno!

 

@Jane Eyles-Bennett, agree that painting floor tiles is generally not recommended, however, I did the floor tiles in our ensuite with White Knight. and about 8 or 9 years later (when we moved out) it was still as good as the day it went in. I wouldn't suggest tile paint for a living room or dining room floor, or other area with lots of traffic, but, hey for a few bucks it's worth a try!

 

Hydrofloric acid. Best left to professionals and usually only for large commercial resurfacing. Highly corrosive: Hydrofluoric acid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stick to some sugar soap and wipe it down plenty of times and leave it to dry.

pinkboy

 

Sugar soap is the business.

 

@wobblycarly Oh good to know! Yes definitely worth a try for a few $$ and could be the right solution for a quick flip deal!

 

It can be good, but have heard stories of it not turning out so well.
Still reckon it's all in the preparation.

 

Yes hydrofluoric acid is very nasty stuff. I remember a guy dying here in Perth years ago after spilling some on his leg, stick to the sugar soap.

 

Crikey, that's no good.

 

Our neighbour at the time was an orderly at Freo hospital, he said it was terrible. The guy was doing gold assaying in a house with a swimming pool and he jumped in the pool to try to wash it off but it's absorbed very quickly. It leaches the calcium from your body, including the blood where it helps in clotting so you can haemorrhage to death. Horrible.

 

Double crikey!
I thought it might have burnt a hole in his leg and he bled to death. Yuck.

 

Is White Knight the only brand you've used? Do you know of any other brands of tile primers? Assume you can then just use any brand of enamel paint?

@Jane Eyles-Bennett any paint brands you'd recommend for the job? Looking to do walls in my place to get rid of the pink!

 

Apparently preparation has a lot to do with the lifespan of the result. I've used "ESP" for preparation, worked really well. No bubbling or anything, and it was in the sun.