How to paint external tiles that have been waterproofed?

[BrettoA]

 

Hi all. We have an outdoor area that was previously tiled. Although the majority of the area is undercover, some weather gets in and over time many of the perimeter tiles have come

loose or cracked. I didn’t want to retile it all and was going to go over it all with composite decking tiles, but that will cost over $3k. In preparation for that, I have primed the area and waterproofed the perimeter with Bastion Exterior UV Stable WPU membrane (over the tiles) and used floor leveller to level out the surface. Whilst waterproofing it all, I thought to myself “I should have just painted it all” instead. My question now is, if I wanted to paint the surface that is now made up of tiles, and now also waterproofed tiles, can that be done? I know I can paint over the tiles if I etched them properly but can I paint over the waterproofed tiles at all? Can I prime over the Bastion with another product then paint over that. I don’t care about the surface being rough etc, as we’re selling the house and I just need a cost effective solution to pretty up the area.

[EricL]

Hello @BrettoA 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about painting your outdoor tiles.

I'm sorry, but I am currently not aware of any products that are suitable for painting outdoor tiles. I recommend having a look at this discussion - How to paint over outdoor tiles? by @Wendi. My teammate gives a very thorough explanation why outdoor tiles can't be painted. 

However, in regards to your other question, can you paint over waterproofed tiles? I'm afraid the answer is going to have to be no, as there has been no testing between the waterproof membrane and the exterior paint product used. There is no guarantee how long the paint will stay on that waterproof surface, the paint could peel the following next day. 

As mentioned in the discussion I linked to, the only way to paint the surface is to grind the glazed surface off. This activity could end up damaging and cracking the tiles. 

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[BrettoA]

Thanks for the response EricL. I was concerned that might be the answer. I’m running out of other options that might fix up the area to look respectable. I might need to stick with the composite decking tile option even though it will be a lot more expensive.👍