affordable DIY Painting tiles that can greatly improve the look of your bath…
Don’t you love walking down the makeup aisles at the drug store? I have no idea what to do with half of the stuff I see in there, but it’s fun nonetheless. My favorite part? Concealers…I mean, that’s just pure magic. With the wave of one tiny little wand or cotton ball…blemishes be gone.
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Things aren’t so different in the home improvement world, you know. There are aisles of fun stuff that will erase our mistakes at Home Depot, too. Magic erasers, paint, spot removers…all kinds of stuff to cover up that stuff we don’t want to see. As Louie Armstrong would say “oh, what a wonderful world”.
In the kids bathroom, one of our DIY’s was painting tiles/re-finishing the tub and tile surround with a Rust-Oleum Tub & Tile Re-Finishing Kit. And if you ever wondered, “Can you paint tile?”
Well, I’m here to tell you, YES. Yes, painting tiles is, in fact possible. If you haven’t seen our post about that process, check it out *HERE*. But here’s a quick video of the before and after.
For about $50, we were able to make the tub and tile surround a nice, bright, updated white by painting tiles…and compared to the THOUSANDS we could have spent on a new tub and tile (not to mention the days/weeks it would have added to this project’s timeline) $50 sounded scandalously fantastic.
But, because this was one of the FIRST things we did in the remodel process, the bright, new shiny tub had to endure a lot of “tub-thumping” as the demolition and re-construction of the bath wore on. And that meant…dun dun dun….
WHOOPS-a-daisy! Did I scratch that new finish as I was re-installing the baseboard moulding? Yes, I most certainly did.
Uh-oh…did I mark the H-E-double-hockey-sticks out of that tile as I installed the new flooring? You betcha!
But, all was not lost. Here at this little DIY blog the Heathered Nest, a plan needed to be hatched…a cover up. Thankfully, the good people at Rust-Oleum came to our rescue and sent me this Tub & Tile Touch Up Kit to try out! CONCEALER, ladies!!
Supplies Needed for Painting Tiles:
- Rustoleum Tub & Tile Touch Up Kit
- rubber or plastic gloves
- GOOD quality respirator/mask
- fans/open windows/as much ventilation as possible
- smallcraft paintbrush
- high/fine grit sandpaper
The paintbrush is optional, and if you use one, make sure it’s one you won’t mind throwing away. The bottle of product you’ll use actually is almost identical to a bottle of nail polish, so it comes with it’s own brush. But since one of my scratches was on the larger side, I wanted a larger brush so I could cover more ground quicker.
This tile painting productis pretty easy to use, just mix the contents of the two vials, then paint it on. I found that in order to get the finish as smooth as possible (on vertical locations), put on a heftier amount and let it kind of glide itself into place. Make sure you wear your mask, and cover the floor or surfaces around your project.
Applying to vertical surfaces proved a bit challenging…sometimes gravity is not our friend. The surface did not come out perfectly smooth.
Ahhh…the magic of make-up!
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LZ [email protected] The Summery Umbrella says
What a fantastic idea! I've recently "updated" my guest bathroom (aka. painted the walls and added a vanity we made), but the bathtub is still quite scary. I will definitely be putting this handy-dandy little guy in my Amazon cart stat! 🙂
Tori Rockwell says
How has the Rustoleum finish lasted? Does it seem to hold up well to water and regular use? Interested in trying this in a busy bathroom and don’t really want to have to keep redoing it. Thanks!
Heather says
Hey Tori, so in all honesty, the kids NEVER use this tub…they are constantly in our shower, so I’m not the best source of info on the wearability yet. I know there are a couple other bloggers who have used the product..http://www.designertrapped.com/2014/10/how-to-paint-shower-tiles.html. Karisa at Petite Modern Life being one. She’d answer you if you emailed her!
Linda says
Hi what inspiration for a beginner like me! Thanks for sharing, gals!
Linda says
Is this for fiberglass tubs? My white tub looks terrible and I can only find refinish kits for porcelain.
Heather says
Hmmm, Linda, I am honestly not sure if it works with fiberglass. Ours was porcelain as well :/