Advice on tile paint please

Go ahead, it's well worth while.

Long ago I painted a set of outdoor tiles for Truro City Council (all the Cornish wild-flowers so the public could identify them) but they had to be fired, so were loose.

In 2000, I was commissioned to paint the children and domestic animals of the family, on kitchen tiles, in situ for a local farmer.
I can't remember now what I used but I did coat them (the tiles not the kids ) with clear polyurethane varnish for extra protection. They're still going strong after multiple cleanings. No firing was needed of course.

Are you an experienced painter? If not, find a design you like and copy it.

Will you need to stand, sit, bend or lean in an awkward position in order to get at them? If so, put a time limit (15 mins) on how long you work and take frequent breaks, or you'll have aches on your aches

If you decide it's too daunting a task, and I hope you don't, there's an alternative. Using postcards, wrapping paper, art prints or whatever takes you fancy, cut to size, glue them onto the tiles (don't use PVA glue) and give them several coats (6-7 over the same number of days) of polyurethane varnish to protect from steam, grease etc.

I did this, though not on tiles, with a full set of Flower Fairy postcards, which my first grand-daughter wanted on her bedroom door.

Good luck and ENJOY!

I have used tile paint to change the colour of tiles in a shower area. Firstly make sure the tiles are scrupulously clean. I then used paint sold specifically for painting tiles. I found that painting each tile individually with a small roller gave the best finish.
I used white paint so didn’t do the grouting separately, but you can buy special grouting pens to whiten it.

Bradfordlass73 thank you for your reply. Your tile painting sound amazing and you must be very artistic to tackle such projects. Sadly, I’m devoid of any kind of artistic talent. I’m just wondering about the possibility of buying tile paint and applying a change of colour all over the existing tiles. After picturing your lovely tiles mine sound very boring!

Thanks J52. I don’t have a steady hand and the grout part of the job is making me think the whole thing might be a bad idea. I was going to use white tile paint. Do you think it would look like a slap dash job if I painted completely over tiles and grout? It’s not just the shower area, the entire bathroom is half tiled.

Bradfordlass like gnw said, your tiles sound amazing? Do you have pictures you could share please?
Sorry, grannynannywanny I don't have any advice, I'd be apprehensive too.
What colour are your tiles at present?

What I'd do is buy some tiles along with the paint and have a little play.
That should help you to make up your mind.
I've had a look on Amazon reviews and the general consensous seems to be to use a roller.

My very slapdash daughter once painted the tiles of her fire place bright red! I was convinced 1) it wouldn't work and 2) she'd make a right hash of it. Neither happened. It looked great and has lasted 8 years so far.

A friend of mine has recently painted the tiles in her bathroom and to be fair it looks great.
She cleaned them thoroughly with sugar soap etc and used a tile specific paint.
She masked off the sealant and used a foam roller (small).
She did say she'd needed 2 coats of paint but as I said, it looks good!

FannyCornforth the tiles are currently a sort of peaches and cream mix. A relic from 20 odd years ago when I moved in. That’s a really good idea to test it on spare tiles. I may even have some in the loft.
Dee1012 did your friend avoid painting on the grout lines between the tiles or did she apply the paint all over?

I painted over the tiles and the grout in paint. It worked well. However be careful if you use any mould spray on the silicone later , not to get it on the paint

Atqui glad to hear you painted over the grout and it looked fine.
Thanks everyone for your advice.

Grannynannywanny, she painted over the grout...all white. She did say she'd given the grout a good scrub with bleach first and let it dry out.

I agree, if you’re using white paint over the grout. That’s what I did. But I still painted each tile separately with the small roller, just going over the edges. If that makes sense!