How to paint bathroom and kitchen tiles so they last for years

What you need

• 10 cm high density foam roller
• Fine brush for grout lines and corners
• Paint tray
• Sanding block
• Putty knife
• Masking tape and protective paper
• Mask with an organic vapour filter and an FFP2
• Nitrile gloves and glasses
• Strong degreaser
• Anti-mould treatment for mouldy areas
• Sandpaper in 220 and 320 grit
• Bonding primer (Zinsser Bulldog or the equivalent from Bruguer, Montó)
• Water-based tile paint or two part epoxy (Leroy Merlin, Bricodepot)
• Anti-mould sanitary silicone to finish

Step by step

1. 1

   Ventilate and protect

   Open the window and clear the bathroom or kitchen. Cover sanitaryware, taps, floor and furniture with paper and masking tape. If you are using epoxy, put on an organic vapour mask, gloves and glasses.

2. 2

   Remove old silicone and mould

   Take off the blackened silicone around the edges with a putty knife or craft knife and treat the mould with anti-mould product. Rinse and leave to dry. Painting over mould is wasted paint.

3. 3

   Degrease thoroughly

   Clean all the tiles with degreaser and a soft scourer. Rinse twice with clean water and leave to dry for an hour. Wipe over with a cloth with isopropyl alcohol to remove traces of soap.

4. 4

   Repair breaks and holes

   Fill chips and holes with filler or epoxy, sand flush with 220 grit and go over again. Replace broken or loose tiles before painting.

5. 5

   Sand to take off the shine

   Sand all the tiles and grout lines with 220 grit in circular movements with medium pressure. You do not need to remove the glaze, only dull it. Vacuum and wipe off the dust with a damp cloth.

6. 6

   Apply the primer

   With the foam roller, put on a thin coat of bonding primer over the tiles and grout. Use the brush for corners. Leave to dry for 4 hours, or as the pack says.

7. 7

   First coat of paint

   Apply a thin coat of tile paint or epoxy mixed as the pack says. Load the roller lightly and work in long strokes, without going back over what is starting to dry. Ventilate well.

8. 8

   Wait and apply the second coat

   Wait 24 hours between coats with water-based paint, or the maker's time with epoxy (normally 8-24 hours). Apply a thin, even second coat. Remove the tape when it is dry to the touch.

9. 9

   Leave to cure

   Keep the area dry for 5-7 days with ventilation. In windowless bathrooms or in the high humidity of the coast, give it the full 7 days. Do not use the shower or rest objects against it until then.

10. 10

    Finish with anti-mould silicone

    After the curing days, apply anti-mould sanitary silicone around the bath, basin and worktop edges. Leave another 24 hours without water before first use.

Which tiles can be painted and which cannot

Paint on tiles works on kitchen walls, splashbacks, ventilated bathrooms and wall tiling that does not get direct, constant contact with water. It is a way of renewing a rented bathroom or a beach flat without building work: it saves retiling, the dust and the days of renovation.

It is not a good idea to paint the inside of a shower or bath that gets daily splashes of hot water, floors that get walked on, worktops you prepare food on or the areas next to hobs and cookers. There the paint softens with heat and damp and lifts within months. In those spots it is better to replace the tiles or use a decorative panel.

Textured tiles can be painted, but the paint highlights the grout lines and the rough surface. Matt stoneware tiles take paint better than glossy glazed ones, which need more careful sanding and a specific primer.

Common mistakes when painting tiles

• Not degreasing. Years of grease and soap stop the paint gripping. Clean with a strong degreaser and rinse twice. In coastal kitchens, the air carries oil and salt and leaves a film that is hard to see.
• Not sanding. Glazed tile is as smooth as glass. Sanding with 220 grit opens the surface. Without it, the paint peels off in strips.
• Painting over mould. It has to be removed first, with a specific anti-mould product and a rinse. Otherwise it comes back through the paint. See how to remove mould from the shower.
• Using ordinary wall paint. It does not resist damp or rubbing. There are specific water-based tile paints and two part epoxy enamels.
• Skipping the primer. It is what bonds to the tile. A bonding primer (Zinsser Bulldog or similar from Bruguer or Montó) greatly improves how long it lasts.
• Painting the grout along with the tile. The grout ends up painted and cracks. It is better to clean it thoroughly and cover the whole surface, or regrout first.
• Getting it wet too soon. The cure is what gives hardness. In high humidity it needs 7 days, not 2. A shower after 24 hours marks the paint for life.

Water-based paint or epoxy: which suits each case

Specific water-based tile paints (Leroy Merlin and Bricodepot stock tile and smooth surface ranges from Montó, Bruguer, Titan and Xylazel) are easier to apply, have little smell and clean up with water. They hold up well in kitchens and ventilated bathrooms.

Two part epoxy gives a harder, waterproof finish suitable for areas that get splashed. It is harder to apply: it has to be mixed, has a limited working time and gives off toxic fumes while it cures. You need to work with the window open, a mask with an organic vapour filter, gloves and glasses, and keep children and pets out of the bathroom until it has cured.

As a rule: kitchen and ventilated bathroom, specific water-based paint. Around a bath that gets splashed, two part epoxy. And in any case, bonding primer and two thin coats.

Choose the colour carefully. Whites and light greys hide limescale and small imperfections. Dark and glossy colours show every fingerprint and every drop of limescale, which is very visible with hard water like that in Valencia, Alicante and Torrevieja.

When to call a painter

Call a painter if the bathroom has no window and you want to use epoxy, if there is widespread mould, if the tiles are lifting or broken or if you have a large surface to paint. Before painting it is worth fixing whatever is not a paint problem: replacing broken tiles, filling holes (how to fill holes in tiles) and regrouting.

At Manitas Costa we assess the job from a photo and give a fixed price. We have no set price per metre of tiling; as a guide, painting walls white costs €6-8 per m² and a 12 m² room costs €180-300. A small tiled bathroom falls under an hourly handyman job, €35-45 for the first hour and €28-35 for each hour after that. Regrouting a whole bathroom costs €150-300 and replacing 1 to 5 tiles costs €60-120.

You will find more in painters in Valencia, Alicante and the Costa Blanca and in how much it costs to paint a flat. For grout upkeep, see how to clean tile grout.

Coastal climate: damp, salt air and limescale

On the coast, the windowless bathroom of a flat in Benidorm, Torrevieja or Santa Pola is a difficult environment: damp that will not go down, condensation on the walls and mould that keeps coming back. If you paint, keep the extractor running during and after every shower and open the door for a few minutes.

Limescale from the water settles on the paint and takes the shine off it. Clean with a soft cloth and diluted vinegar, without scouring pads or bleach, and the paint will last longer. Check every year the silicone around the bath and worktops: water getting in through an open joint lifts the paint from behind.

In second homes where the bathroom goes weeks without use, air it when you arrive before using the shower, and time the painting so the cure falls in a period when the place is empty. If your home is in Valencia or Alicante and you want to get the bathroom ready before letting it, send us photos and we will tell you what is worth doing.