The Pros & Cons of Refinishing Shower Tile

The Pros and Cons of Refinishing Shower Tile

How to give new life to worn shower tiles. and is it worth it?

Hello, friends!

Well, this past week I took some time off work and away from the blog to catch up on some MAJOR projects.

A few of these projects involved our bathroom renovation, including what today’s post is all about!

When I first bought this house, the tiles in this bathroom were yellow speckled. (See below). So I painted them.That was even before painting your bathroom tiles was a thing! But surprisingly it worked!

Until we started to demo!

If you didn’t see where we started in this bathroom you can check out ALL the before in this post.

When we decided to update this bathroom there were a lot of factors we had to consider. But one very important factor was at the top of our list.

How much more did we want to and more importantly SHOULD we invest before selling the house?

We’ve done a LOT of remodeling to this 100+-year-old home!! But there comes a time where you really have to look at whether or not you will get a return on that investment.

This is why when we drew up the plan to remodel this bathroom, we chose NOT to replace the shower tile. The cost just didn’t make sense.

But we couldn’t leave the shower the way it was. Some of the tiles needed to be repaired. (Thankfully we had a few spare old tiles). And all of them needed to be refreshed!

So after a TON of research, and all of my supplies at hand, I decided to take on the BIG project of refinishing the shower tiles!

Before I get into the details, let me start by saying this project is NOT a quick and easy one. It’s EXTREMELY important to take each step one at a time.

With that said, Since Michael was at work, I had to do each step by myself. Once you’re into it there’s no stopping or going back. Unfortunately, I was unable to capture pictures of each one. My apologies, but I think my tutorial should be detailed enough without them.

So let’s get started!

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The main product that you will need to refinish your tiles is this one! I’m sure there are other brands but this one came highly recommended so I went with it. Please note: If you read the reviews on this product almost ALL of them will say the smell is HORRIBLE and you should wear a mask and open up windows if possible for ventilation. I did both.  But the truth is. I didn’t think it was as bad as what people said. In fact, halfway through the project, I removed my mask, but turned a fan on and kept the window open.

Step One: Clean the tile

Material/Supplies Needed:

Gloves**Recommended

Safety Goggles**Recommended

Bleach  (One cup of bleach to 1 gallon of water)

Abrasive Cleaner (I used Comet granules)

Scrubbing Sponge

Sandpaper (Wet/Dry) 400-600 Grit

***Note the instructions also called for Lime Away but I couldn’t find any so I did NOT use it.

To Clean: First I wiped the entire shower down with the bleach solution and scrubbing sponge. Then I gave it a good rinse.

Next, I grabbed a new sponge and began scrubbing down the tiles with the Comet. This removed any and all mold and mildew between the crack and crevices.

**NOTE: During the cleaning process I was worried that the paint on the tiles would start coming off. It did NOT! 

After rinsing off the Comet, I allowed the tile to dry. Since the window was open it only took a few minutes. I also grabbed my phone and took a quick snapshot! I don’t think this tub and tile have EVER been this clean. LOL!

Once everything was dry it was time to sand all of the tiles down. This part was not the most fun, but I will say my arms got a good work out! After all the tile had been sounded down, I gave them another good rinse and then wiped them all down with a lint-free towel.

The instructions on the refinishing kit did recommend removing any caulk that might be in contact with the epoxy as well. (Note I did not do this step. We were going to replace the caulk anyway so I figured if it didn’t matter.)

Step Two: Refinish the Tiles

Materials/Supplies Needed:

Tile Refinishing Kit

Stir stick

Painters Tape

High-Density Shed Resistant Roller

Good Quality Fine Paint Brush

Gloves (Recommended)

Goggles (Recommended)

Mask (Recommended)

Before I got the epoxy ready I placed painter’s tape on the walls above the shower to avoid getting any of the product on them.

**Here is the part where once you’re into it, you can’t stop or go back!!!

Let’s DO THIS!

So the kit comes with two containers. You’ll be mixing Part B into Part A with the stir stick. **TIP: Be sure to stir slowly as the can gets FULL!!! Also, Stir for a good while because it takes a bit for the two to come together and begin to be the consistency of paint.

Once it is, then you just apply the epoxy mix to the tiles. And by this I mean, you just paint it on. It’s that simple.

To do this I used the roller for the large areas and then the brush to get into the corners and underneath the window. Unlike paint, you really have to move quickly as this sets up VERY fast.

This is what it looked like after the first coat. BIG change, huh? But we aren’t done yet!

Here is the other side!

After allowing the first coat to dry for an hour, it’s time for the second coat!

 

And this is what it looks like after the second coat!!

I did have to do a few touch-ups after the second coat dried (about an hour later), but overall, it went on well and you could tell the difference immediately.

Once you have the look you want, it will take 3 days (yes, days) to dry completely before you can use your shower!

So what are the Pros and Cons of Refinishing Shower Tile?

Well, the Cons are:

•  Smelly (although not as bad as the reviews)
• Messy (No matter what the instructions say your paintbrush and roller are done after using this stuff!
• Time-consuming (Plan on spending at LEAST 5 hours and definitely MORE if you have a large shower area
• It takes 3 day’s to dry before you can use your shower
• Small Quantity (The amount in one can just barely covered our small shower area with two coats. If you have a larger area and/or you want to cover your bathtub, you will need at least three kits.)

And the Pros?

• Cost-effective compared to replacing tiles
• Easy Application
• Quality results with one coat
• Durable (We’ve been working on the window, installing hardware, touching up paint on the walls, etc, and not a scratch!)
• The finished look is like new. It’s clean (no brush strokes), glossy, and covers even yellow speckled tiles!

I can’t show you much more of the finished tub/shower as I want to save it for the final reveal. But I truly am SO happy this project is done. And even more, I’m so happy it turned out as well as it did!

The total cost to gut the shower and start over could have been in the thousands! Our cost will be WAY less! (I’ll be sharing the full cost of updating the bath/shower in the final reveal.)

So what do you think?

Would you try refinishing your tub/shower area?

I hope you found this post-The Pros and Cons of Refinishing Shower Tile helpful!

If you did, we’d love it if you shared this project!

Thank you so much for stopping by!