Can I paint the tiles in my shower?

I often get asked the question "Can I paint the tiles in my shower?" and the answer is no, at least not at this stage. While Plascon Tile Primer and Plascon Velvaglo can be used to paint tiles on walls in a bathroom, it isn't recommended for painting tiles in a shower.

 

 

 

 

 

Being a bit of a 'doubting Thomas', I decided to do a test for myself. I know that you definitely cannot paint glossy tiles in a shower, but my tiles are matt finish and I wanted to know if that would work. I'm not too worried about removing the paint once I'm done - Plascon RemovALL is eco-friendly and there are no toxic fumes to worry about !

 

 

After an hour spent scrubbing down the shower cubicle with sugar soap it was time to give it a go!

 

 

Plascon Tile Primer was applied in accordance with the instructions. I used a foam roller to apply the product over the tiles and left this to dry for the specified time. If you are painting wall tiles, a foam roller is the best method for application. It leaves a brush-stroke-free smooth finish.

 

 

After letting the tile primer dry overnight, I applied Plascon Velvaglo over the tiles. Again I used a foam roller to do this for a nice, smooth finish. Because this is old-base enamel paint, if you need to take a break while painting - wrap the roller with clingfilm so that the paint stays wet and you can carry on.

 

 

Paint still wet, but the shower wasn't used for 2 days to make sure that the paint was completely dry.

 

 

Six months down the line the paint slowly started to peel off. There are various spots around the shower where the paint is pulling away from the tile and it won't be long before even more paint peels off.

The experiment shows that painting over tile is not recommended at the moment, unless you use an epoxy paint product such as Rust-Oleum Tub & Tile. The only problem with Rust-Oleum Tub & Tile is that it doesn't offer varied colour options. If you are looking for white, then you're in luck!