Fireplace Tiles Painting Tips Needed

MinMoz

Fire place in our living room is over a hundred years old so dont want to remove or damage the tiles. Instead I am intending on painting over them.

Any tips or recommendations on paint to use? The fire place will not be used.

DVardysShadow

Why paint over them? If you value it for being over 100 years old, it seems to me that painting it would be a form of vandalism.

27col

Painting them is a type of damage. I agree entirely with DV.

keystone

So do I.

Cheers

MinMoz

Ordinarily I would agree too but the colour is too dated to put up with and would clash with every possible colour for the room apart from white.

botanical

MinMoz wrote: »

Ordinarily I would agree too but the colour is too dated to put up with and would clash with every possible colour for the room apart from white.

This advice on painting the tiles is intended to preserve the tiles intact for the future, even though it really is a type of vandalism and I don't agree with it!
If you paint the tiles with matt emulsion paint, straight on (without 'keying' the tiles of course) and fully cover them with emulsion with a few coats, this will act as a safe 'cover' for the tiles.
The tiles can then be restored easily in the future by a sympathetic owner!

DVardysShadow

botanical wrote: »

This advice on painting the tiles is intended to preserve the tiles intact for the future, even though it really is a type of vandalism and I don't agree with it!
If you paint the tiles with matt emulsion paint, straight on (without 'keying' the tiles of course) and fully cover them with emulsion with a few coats, this will act as a safe 'cover' for the tiles.
The tiles can then be restored easily in the future by a sympathetic owner!

How are you supposed to get it off? If the tiles suffer from even slight crazing, I would expect problems getting the tiles back.

Barneysmom

I'd be more inclined to put a fireproof cover over them.

botanical

DVardysShadow wrote: »

How are you supposed to get it off? If the tiles suffer from even slight crazing, I would expect problems getting the tiles back.

It's used in conservation as a protectant. Emulsion paint is an remarkable substance that is like liquid plastic but water-soluble. Removing it using suspensions of turps and water lifts it off without soaking the tiles and causing damage.

botanical

Barneysmom wrote: »

I'd be more inclined to put a fireproof cover over them.

I'd advise not doing this as it may slightly soften or even melt the glazed surface of an old tile and damage the tile through any cracks.

OP, what colour are they and is there no way you could make them seem funky/characterful/narrative instead?

Something 'out of place' can add an interesting off-beat feel to a room...

MinMoz

Thanks for the replies.

The tiles are a bright light blue whilst I am intending to paint the room green.

Thanks Botanical - will go with your suggestion as dont want to damage the tiles. However to appease you all I am going to decorate the room and paint the tiles last to see if the colour can sit as an odd non-matching but interesting feature.