Tuesday, October 20, 2015

A Tutorial for Tub and Tile Refinishing Kit


You can't imagine how wonderful it is to walk into this powder room and not think about the big blue elephant behind the shower curtain. 


It no longer matters if the shower curtain is closed.
Let's remember where we were.
Why, Mrs. Mudrey, why?


 I've always disliked this tile and I've wanted to paint it for a couple of years. 
When painting tile came across my radar, Rust-Oleum was fazing out a kit they had.
 I couldn't find it anywhere.
Bill wasn't keen on the idea anyway. 
We were planning on rehabbing the downstairs shower but two things happened:
Bill started traveling for work and the plumber told me we would have to take out the vanity and the toilet in order to remove the tub.
I'd just installed a new sink, faucet and counter and a new toilet. 
What the plumber said made sense but I wasn't up for it.
 I hid the blue tile behind a shower curtain and forgot about it. 
When I saw that there was a new epoxy for shower surrounds and tubs, I did some research and ordered it off of eBay.


This is supposed to be easier than the old kit. 
I wouldn't call this easy but it isn't difficult. 
It is just a lot of prep work.
Here are the steps before you begin painting:
Remove all the old caulk.
Scrub the shower with a mixture of bleach and water.
Rinse. 
Use an abrasive pad and comet to scrub the surround.



Spray with Lime-A-Way and rinse. 
Sand with a #400/600 wet dry sandpaper. 
Rinse and let dry. 
Wipe with a tack cloth. 
I taped off everything I could think of because I wasn't sure the tile paint would come off if it dripped.


In spite of my aggressive taping, I stepped in some paint and tracked it on the tile floor. 
It wasn't easy but it came off. 
The mixture requires mixing the two cans that come in the kit.
I tried stirring them together but it didn't work. 
I had to put the lid back on to shake the mixture. 


 Paint the edges and corners first. 
Please, please!


This stuff burns your eyes. 
The respirator I was wearing was gagging me.
My eyes were watering. 
I rolled it first so that by the time I cut out the edges the fumes were super strong. 
My eyes were watering so much that it was hard to see the edges for cutting out.
This stuff is drippy. 
After an hour it is dry and hard to the touch. 


At this point, I had no confidence that a second coat would cover as much as it did.


I cut this one out first and then rolled.
It was much better the second time but I was getting a little loopy. 
In spite of the fumes, this stuff is amazing.
It looks and feels like tile. 


The strangest thing has happened with the caulk. 
I waited for three days before I caulked.
The bright white grout immediately started to yellow.
I tried a different brand and the same thing happened.
I scraped it all out and started over.
The caulk yellowed again. 
I was not happy. 
Google searches yielded no results. 


Even with windows open and a fan running, I could still smell it four days later.


The blue was still showing in a few areas so I ordered another kit. 
Save yourself time and just order two to start with.



I ended up painting over the caulk lines when the second kit arrived.








I love it!
Katie

Linking with,






11 comments :

  1. Really a fabulous job Katie! so inspiring.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Katie,
    It looks great. We did our tile with that kit we had pretty pink tiles to go over lol! Love that it looks brand new when you are done. The smell did go away after about a week. We painted over the chalk too. Have a great week and you did a great job on this.
    Kris

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello Katie, Your bathroom looks amazing! This is the post that I have been waiting for . . . Thank You, Thank You, and Thank You! We do have a window in our bathroom, so maybe if I set up a fan to blow out the window it will help. You have answered so many of my questions and helped me to not make any first time mistakes (like stirring instead of shaking). Also seeing what one coat looks like compared to two coats will totally ease my mind after I apply the first coat. We are planning of trading in our motor-home for a 5th wheel next spring. One of the things we want in it is a bigger bathroom. So, I think that I will wait until then, because we only have one bathroom in the house. That will give us a place to use while the bathroom cures. Thank so much again for this post. I am going to bookmark it with a star. You have no idea how very helpful this is.
    Your blogging sister, Connie :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. It looks very nice! I didn't know you could paint tiles, thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is a fantastic tutorial. I will be interested to hear how it holds up in the future.
    Have a lovely fall weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love the results I also have pink tile it's in great shape although very dated I'll have to look for this product

    ReplyDelete
  7. oh Katie, you were brave, and it looks so fabulous!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Now that it's been a year, how has the tile held up?

    ReplyDelete

  9. I admire what you have done here. I like the part where you say you are doing this to give back but I would assume by all the comments that this is working for you as well.
    Bathtub Refinishing

    ReplyDelete
  10. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete