Epoxy is a solid material that can be used for various purposes. It’s commonly employed as an adhesive and a floor sealant.
This coating not only protects a floor from water damage but also protects it from nicks and scratches.
Painting tile floors with epoxy helps to protect your floor from water damage and cracked tiles. However, epoxy is not often opted for due to its long drying time, but its pros greatly outweigh its cons.
So if you want to cover and protect your tile floor with epoxy, heres how to paint tile floors with epoxy.
Read: 9 disadvantages of epoxy flooring
4 Steps to Painting Tile Floors With Epoxy
Table of Contents
Prepare the Floor
A smooth finish covers the tile, preventing anything from penetrating the surface. If you want to apply an epoxy coating, you’ll need to prepare the surface so that it can absorb the coating.
First sweep and clean the floor with soap and water, and allow it to dry completely. Next, sand your tile floor to give it the texture that epoxy can adhere to. You can do it by attaching 60-grit sandpaper to the belt sander before sanding.
Keep in mind not to sand too much to avoid damaging the finish. Once this task is done, use a tack cloth to wipe the tile to remove any dust.
Read: How hard is it to epoxy a garage floor
Use Primer
Using a primer makes the epoxy adhere to the floor without causing any adverse damage to the tile’s color; it is advised that you use white primer so you can paint the floor another color if you so desire at any time.
Pick one corner and start there. Evenly apply the primer all over the floor. It’s critical to adhere to the tile’s design and prime the grout. Leave the primer for a day to cure.
Read: How to remove tile adhesive
Apply the Paint
Let’s say you wish to switch up the color of your floor. You can apply a coat of floor paint over the primer.
This is optional. Cover the entire area in the same way you did with the primer. You’ll need three layers of paint, so don’t worry if the first one doesn’t entirely cover the tile. Ensure each layer dries thoroughly before moving on to the next.
Read: Can you paint kitchen floor tiles?
Apply the Epoxy Coating.
It’s now time to apply the epoxy. Start from the same corner you previously did before, working your way up carefully and slowly with a brush to avoid streaks.
Allow the epoxy to dry for the appropriate drying time before sanding with 220-grit sandpaper.
Before applying another coat, use a clean tack cloth to wipe it down; you’ll need about four to six coats to achieve an evenly coated floor.
To avoid damaging your work before it cures, don’t buff the floor. Allow the floor to dry for about a day or two Before walking on it.
Read: What kind of paint do you use on ceramic tile floor
Conclusion
Epoxy is a strong tile adhesive, making it an excellent choice for most homes. With epoxy, you can apply more than one color on your tile floors for those who love artistic designs.
Painting tile floors with epoxy is as simple as preparing the floor, applying primer and painting over the primer, then finally applying the epoxy coating. Dry time intervals are required between application before finally sanding the epoxy coating.