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Can You Stain Ceramic Tile? (Read This First!) 

Tiles are considered one of the most common types of flooring material that is used in almost every household. They provide you with extra shine and a smooth finish and increase the beauty. In today’s article, we will discuss staining the ceramic tile.

Can you stain ceramic tile? 

You can stain or recolor the ceramic tiles. But some preparations are needed to be made. You need to apply a layer of primer first. Once the primer has dried up, your tiles are ready for coloring. You may choose between staining the tiles or painting them to your choice accordingly. 

In case you have moved into a house where it is filled with outdated tiles, or you maybe need to change the color of the tiles to match them with the color of the room accordingly, you can simply stain the tiles without removing them.

Removing the tiles to change them will cost you extra money and time. So, staining the tiles on your house will be the best option for you to give your home a newer look. There are different ways to stain each type of tile.

There are tiles such as ceramic floor tiles, tiles and grout, and backsplash tile. The following is a description of whether you can stay in these styles or not:

Ceramic tile floor:

Staining the floor tiles is a great way to achieve a neat look for your household. Since most of the floor tiles enable, glaze, or seal, you need to sand them.

Sanding the tiles will take away the place and the finish and allow the primer to stick to the surface. Once you are sure that the primer is set up properly on the tile, you can stain or paint it.

Ceramic tile and grout:

With a few hours of work and very few tools, you can stain ceramic tile and the grout. Just simply mix the stain and grout sealer and apply them to it. Within a few hours, it will dry up. 

Ceramic tile backsplash:

You need a little bit of effort to stain the ceramic tile backsplash. You will need to apply more than one layer of primer on the ceramic tile backsplash and make sure that the first layer has dried up before putting the second layer on it.

The ceramic tile backsplash requires a special type of primer to hold the paint for a long time. It takes a little bit of effort and time to execute the job properly.

3 reasons why you can stain ceramic tile 

There are plenty of reasons to stain a ceramic tile. Ceramic tiles are used as a flooring material in households.

They are quite available these days. But in case you want to change the flooring texture of your house by removing the outdated ones, you might consider changing the tiles. That’s going to cost you a lot of money.

Since changing the tiles can be an expensive job, you can simply stain it or paint it. It takes a very little hassle and saves a lot of time if you can do it with minimum skill and effort.

Moreover, staining tile is beneficial. Here are some reasons why you can stain ceramic tile:

It makes the older tile look newer:

In case you want to give your home a newer look, you might think about changing the tiles. But that’s a very expensive and time-consuming job. Instead of that you can simply stay in the tiles and give them a newer look.

It can be painted thus it is cost-effective:

If you want to change the tiles that are outdated or old, you might consider replacing them with the newer set. But that is going to cost you a lot of money since tiles are expensive.

So, you can simply stay in the tiles or paint them. The job is very simple, you just need to apply primer and then wait for it to dry to apply paint. 

Extends the lifespan of tiles:

Staining or painting the tiles will not only increase the beauty of the floor or your walls, but it will also increase the lifespan of the tiles. So that’s why staining tiles are the best option as a part of your household maintenance.

Can you sand and paint/stain ceramic tile?

You can paint/stain the ceramic tile, but they require sanding before painting. The tiles contain a glazy and a protective layer of finish that usually makes the tiles look more attractive. So, if you want to change the color or the texture of the tile, you just simply need to stain it.

So before staining the tile, sand the top layer of the tile very well so that the protective layer and the glaze are gone away and you can apply primer on it.

Once the primer is dried, you can apply a second coat of primer if you want. After that, you can approach the staining of the tiles.

Sending is a very essential part of staining a ceramic tile because the protective and glazy layer of the ceramic tile needs to be removed from the tile or else the paint will not stick to the tile properly.

That is why you can sand and after that paint or stain the ceramic tile.

Can you change the color of the ceramic tile? Can you stain ceramic tile a different color?

The color of the ceramic tiles can be changed. But before that, the tile needs to be sanded well. The ceramic tile contains a top protective layer that prevents the tile to stick any color on it.

So, if you want to change the color of the tile, you need to send it to the top layer of the tile very well. After that, you can apply multiple coats of primer and stain or paint the tiles. 

In case you want to change the color of your ceramic tile, you can repaint it, refinish it or stain it with a different color if you want. When it comes to staining, you can apply darker shades or apply multiple colors of stain to create a looking design.

Mixing stains together and painting them over tiles will also create a stone-looking appearance on the tiles.

How to stain ceramic tile?

Staining ceramic tiles require very few tools and minimum skills. Moreover, it is a time-saving job that will be done very quickly. The application of staining takes around one to two hours based on the area.

You just need to prepare the tile floor before staining it. By following some easy simple steps, you can stain the tiles by yourself. The tile staining instructions are explained below: 

Prepare the surface:

Preparing the surface to stain the tiles is one of the most important parts of the work. The ceramic tiles contain a protective layer on top of it which protects the glazy finish from any external paint or material.

So, you need to pull off that protective layer from the ceramic tile. Start by sending the protective layer carefully.

Apply primer:

Once the protective layer of the ceramic tile is pulled off, now you have to apply primer on it. There are some special types of primers for ceramic tiles.

Apply the first layer of primer on the ceramic tile floor and then wait for it to dry. Once dried up, apply the second layer of primer on the tile floor.

Stain the tiles:

Now you can create your favorite blend of stains. You can create a staining pattern or even a stain like a marble stone to make it look more real. Apply on the surface and wait for it to dry.

It is best to apply multiple layers of stain to the style surface and make sure the previous layer is completely dry.

Can you acid stain ceramic tile? What kind of stain do you use for ceramic tiles?

Although you can use acid stains on your ceramic tile, it is recommended not to use them on it.

Because the acid stain contains harmful acids that can damage the tile texture and deteriorate the appearance of your floor. As a result, your finish will not look as you expected. 

You can apply all types of stains over the ceramic tiles. Stains just provide a different-looking finish on top of the tiles. But the tiles need to be cleaned before the stains are applied to them.

And it is recommended to use resin-based stains over the tiles. You can use an oil-based or latex stain that contains urethane resin which is durable and sticks to the ceramic surface is very well for its adhesive.

Final thoughts 

If you want to change the look of your floor by staining the tiles, you can get the look you would like by sanding the tiles well. Applying multiple layers of primer to the tiles is important to stick the paint well. Make sure the stain and primer are dry, leaving six hours between each coat.