How to Paint Tile Backsplash: It’s probably easier than you think it is!!
Last spring I had my kitchen cabinets painted from a dark brown color to a bright white (see below). I definitely preferred the new white color, but now I didn’t like my tile backsplash at all. (One project ALWAYS leads to another, right?!!) Chad said let’s just put in a new tile backsplash.
Initially I agreed, but then I thought about it. This is not our forever home. We would love to move into a different home within the next year or two, if possible. Why not save a little money and PAINT the existing tile? I had heard of people painting tile before, and I have a lot of painting experience. But I had never painted tile before. I love a good project and decided to go for it!
As you can see above my tile is a travertine brick style. I don’t mind that it’s travertine, and I really like the brick look. I just knew it would look better white. So that was another reason I decided to paint my existing backsplash rather than installing new tile. And I’m so glad I did!
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If you’re looking for an easy and inexpensive update to your tile backsplash, here’s a little tutorial: how to paint tile backsplash.
As far as the process goes, I pretty much followed the same steps I would if I were painting anything. The tile really was no different. I think because my tile is a travertine brick style, the paint stuck to it pretty easily; it already had a really paintable texture. Something like a glossy subway tile will be trickier to cover, but I’ve seen people do it! And the process would be similar to mine. You might just choose to use different products.
First things first…wipe down the tile!
I first wiped down my existing tile with a wet rag. This is a really important step, especially in a kitchen where you might have splatters or build-up. I did this the day before I started painting to ensure the grout was completely dry from the wipe-down.
Primer is always a good idea!
I painted a coat of primer on the tile first. To be honest, I don’t always use primer when I paint. But primer is probably never a bad idea ;), and since I had never painted tile before, I thought it would be best. I used this Kilz All-Purpose Primer.
Time to paint!
Once the primer is dry, you’re ready to paint as you normally would. I decided to use a 6-inch roller brush for the majority of the painting, which was really helpful. It ended up being the perfect size for the area I was painting, and it made the job go a lot faster. A regular sized roller would have been too big for the space. Then I went around the edges, outlets and light switches with a small paint brush.
I ended up doing three coats of paint. I thought I would be okay with just two coats. But because of the travertine tile, there were lots of grout-filled holes that were trickier to cover, only because they’re not a flat surface like the actual tile pieces. And the larger grout areas were slightly deeper than the tile surface. Plus the tile was originally various shades of beige and light browns, so there were some darker areas that really needed that third coat. But overall, both the grout and the tile covered really well.
Something to be aware of….
If you’re thinking about painting your tile backsplash, one thing to be aware of is any caulk on the existing tile. On the bottom of my backsplash, where the tile meets the counter top, there is a strip of clear caulk. There is also a little bit of caulk residue (that is rubbed in, so it’s completely flat against the tiles, if that makes sense) on the bottoms of the bottom tiles.
I should have removed the caulk before I started painting and then re-caulked after I was done. But I didn’t; I just painted over the flat caulk that sits up a little bit on the bottom tiles. It didn’t paint as easily as the rest of the tile, but it did get covered by the third coat of paint. I just want to make sure that is something you think about, just in case you get a wild hair and decide you want to paint your tile too! 😉 *Update: I ended up scraping off the caulk residue on the bottom tiles a year later and did touch touch-up painting. It’s held up perfectly since!
Paint Color
I used the paint color High Reflective White in a Gloss sheen from Sherwin Williams. The color is the same color as my kitchen cabinets, and the paint I used was actually leftover from the cabinet job. So that made this project even more affordable!
This was such an easy and inexpensive project, I’d do it again in a heartbeat! And actually just might in my bathrooms! 😉
Stay tuned for more house project tutorials coming soon! Sign up for our newsletter to be notified when we have new posts! And follow us on Instagram for daily projects in stories. You might also be interested in watching me paint a vinyl floor; the process would be similar with a tile floor.
Happy Painting!!
Angie
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A few questions – Did you use anything to seal it? What was the exact Sherwin Williams paint you used? How is it holding up?
I didn’t seal it, although that’s probably a great idea. I have a friend who had painted her tile backsplash several months before me, and she didn’t seal hers and it’s held up well. I used the paint color High Reflective White in a Gloss sheen from Sherwin Williams. It’s holding up great! One thing I would do differently next time is remove the strip of caulk at the bottom of the tile where it meets my counter top before I start painting. I was able to cover it with paint, but it wasn’t easy. And I can scrape the paint off of the caulk with my finger. So I have since removed the caulk and will re-caulk. But the paint is holding up on the tile perfectly!