Everyone knows perfectly well that nothing in our life lasts forever, even beautiful tiles in the bathroom can someday become dull and ugly. The owners of such a tile will want to immediately replace it with a new one, but this is an additional cost. How about not throwing away the tiles, but updating them a little? There are many ways to renovate old tiles: applying vinyl decals, repairing individual tiles or seams, and painting bathroom tiles - painting them all or partly.
Painting is a great way to update old tiles
Cosmetic renovation of tiles
What good is this way? First, there is no need to destroy anything or rebuild everything. Just this wonderful method will suit those people who do not need to repair anything, and they want to create a unique interior in the kitchen or bathroom. For this option, you will need to buy the following materials: or vinyl stickers.
Vinyl wrap
If you're unsure of what to cover your bathroom tiles with, vinyl can help. Vinyl is a waterproof and inexpensive building material for tile renovation. At the moment, in hardware stores there is a colossal selection of stickers with a variety of designs that amaze the human imagination. Thanks to modern technology, even photographs can be applied to vinyl film. Such a film will hide all the inaccuracies of the tile.
First, we prepare the surface of the old tile for gluing by simple washing with an ordinary detergent. Next, we transfer the vinyl film, which has an adhesive base, to the tile.
We begin to glue the vinyl film from the middle, smoothing it to the edges, so that wrinkles and irregularities do not form.
Painting tile - sequence of actions
How to paint bathroom tiles? Immediately, we say that only tiles on the walls and on the ceiling (if any) are subject to painting. The tiles on the floor are constantly exposed to moisture - wet stains from the shower, water accidentally splashed from the sink. And therefore, it will not be possible to paint the floor tiles so that such paint is preserved for a long time. In order to prepare the tile for painting, you must first wash it and treat the surface with an abrasive. Basically, sandpaper is used for such a case. It is necessary to thoroughly clean the tiles so that there is no mold and dirt. It is the abrasive that can not only remove the dirt that has eaten in, but also polish it - this is how the glossy surface will go.
If there are broken tiles on the walls, it is better to replace or fix them before painting. Remember that paint will be difficult to adhere to a glossy surface - so rub the finished surface well with sandpaper.
The room will proceed as follows. Newspapers or unnecessary cardboard are placed on the floor. We begin to prime the finished tile surface (select the primer to match the paint). Give some time for the primer to dry. You should take a primer that will not be afraid of moisture and will be able to withstand high levels of humidity. This will extend the life of the paint.
After the primer has dried, paint on it. How to process the tiles in the bathroom? You can buy glossy and semi-matt emulsion paints to create a glossy finish and make it easier to apply. But it is worth remembering that it is not so durable. If you want a more durable finish, you can paint your old bathroom tiles with oil paint. But it will be a little more difficult to apply, but this paint will last much longer.
Painting the tiles in the bathroom is done in thin layers - and each of them should have time to dry well. The number of layers of paint will depend on the result you want.
Remember that it is better to make several thin layers than one, but thick, - after all, thin layers will fit better, which will provide a high-quality and durable coating. As you can see in the photo, high-quality painted tiles are stylish and beautiful. And most importantly, this way of updating the bathroom is a budget option.
What about the seams?
Light inter-tile seams, one might say, are the most vulnerable place in the entire cladding, they quickly darken, lose color, becoming covered with a dark coating. There are three main ways to refresh tile joints quickly and easily:
- Just paint- the simplest and most affordable way, but at the same time, the most unreliable and longest. To do this, you can use either a simple paint or a special marker, the main thing that needs to be done before painting is to clean the tiles and the seams themselves with a detergent and dry thoroughly, otherwise the paint will not lie down. The only drawback is that in the case of using paint, an unpleasant odor will remain for some time.
- Treat with vinegar solution- if the inter-tile seams darken and spots of a bluish or greenish color appear on them, then most likely the problem is mold. The easiest way to clean mold from tile joints is to use a weak vinegar solution. Simply rub the seams gently with a hard cloth or sponge.
- Replace grout- the most difficult, but at the same time, the most reliable and most effective way is to replace the grout. Carefully peel off the top coat of the old grout and apply a new, fresh coat.
How to renovate bathroom tiles with spot repairs?
If for some reason you decide not to make cosmetic repairs to the tiles and not to paint the tiles in the bathroom, then you can resort to partial replacement of the damaged areas. Such replacement includes the replacement of some individual tiles or tile joints.
Replacing damaged tiles
Are your tiles chipped or cracked? Then you cannot do without replacing it. To do this, you need to buy the same tile or one that will be most suitable in its appearance.
The trickiest part about replacing old tiles is removing them.
First you need to remove the grout, then remove the damaged tile. After such procedures, we remove the old glue and process the tile surface with a special primer, which is designed for deep penetration. We give time for it to dry. Then we apply glue, lay the new tile, leveling it. We fill the seams with special grout.
As you can see, if you wish, you can easily and simply update the tiles in the bathroom. Painting a tile in a bathroom requires attention and accuracy, but in general it is a process that is much easier than completely renewing a tile or even replacing its parts.