Would You Paint The Tiles In The Bathroom

victory

Just moved, bathroom has hideous 1970's pink tiles with brown wood everywhere, on the bath panel, the ledges, the shelves, brown and pink, yuck, painting the brown back to white with primer/paint so no probs there, buying a bath panel, no idea how to tile so would you paint them or would they look awful? There are loads and loads of them so no use to buy the stickers as that would be asmall fortune, they have to go but with no experience how? What is the best way to bring it up to date and the cheapest ?
Thanks:D

sooz

Only consider painting if you plan to replace the tiles and or suite soon.

It is not a long term solution, and it will start to bubble & peel, particularly around the area where you shower.

Ditto the stickers...a total waste of time.

Get someone in to quote for the tiling...you can also tile over tiles, although it is better to remove them first.

Or how about putting aquapanel over the tiles? This could be done by a handyman rather than tiler.

callow

I did this to my bathroom when I moved in. It is a very small bathroom and was fully tiled. The tiles were in good condition, but were dark. I painted them all in a white tile paint with a matt finish. I did need to do 3 coats though. It looks very good. It has come away in one or two places were the shower head has fallen and scratched it, but it has not bubbled and peeled after 2 years.

I do intend to replace the bathroom at some stage.

pinkpong

Noooo, don`t do it!. It will look awfull. Friend of mine did it in her kitchen and it`s just naff. Just buy the cheapist white tiles and slap them on . It is very easy I tiles our bathroom last summer. It takes quite a bit of time, but it is cheap.

silvergirl

Sadly it doesn't work, takes endless preparation, and from my experience is frustrating, wastes time and money. I tried to do it, and the paint all peeled off. And I followed the instructions to the letter. Have it re-tiled or try an adult education DIY class. (endangered species though!) Good luck.

vivatifosi

My Mum in Law painted over some really horrible 70s tiles in the mid-90s when the country was going through its lilac phase. Sad to say they haven't bubbled or peeled but they are very lilac.. They did use a sealant after painting to seal in where the edge of the paint would have been and I think that helped.

However you can't beat new tiles. The just look gorgeous. I agree with pinkpong you can get cheap white contract tiles, but be careful, if you have a lot to cover it could end up looking like an operating theatre, or worse, a public convenience. White contract tiles are great (I used them in my old bathroom) but in small amounts..

So what are the priorities for the new home? I know when I moved there were some things I couldn't bear to look at (the red door in the master bedroom being a biggie), but if a quick fix (in my case some white undercoat until I could afford to replace the door) does the trick for long enough for you to stay sane, it can be worth just doing and saving up for the better solution in the long run.

Forgot to mention, if you do paint, you need to give the tiles a really good going over first with sugar soap or similar, not just conventional cleaning products.