How to Paint Bathroom Tile

If you want to talk about an easy glow-up, learning how to paint bathroom tile has got to be up there with the best. We’ve now painted three bathrooms with this stuff and tell everyone about it all the time.

In our last house, we used a Tub & Tile refinishing kit, but this most recent time (in our mini bathroom makeover) we used a different product and it was surprisingly a really different experience.

So, in addition to some really satisfying before & after photos, we’re going to break down the pros and cons of using the Rustoleum Tub & Tile refinishing kit and the Homax Tough as Tile kit. Whichever one you choose, this is such a big game-changer in a bathroom, and it’s really not that hard.

How to paint bathroom tile

First of all, let’s break down the basics of both products. Number one: they stink. Like, really bad. The fumes are awful, and you really do need to turn on a fan, open a window if you can, and work with one of those more heavy duty respirator-type masks if you can find one in 2020 (we have this one from Amazon that is usually in stock because people aren’t walking into Walgreens looking like Bane the same way they’re snatching up N95s.)

Secondly, you’ve got to work quickly. Both of them are epoxy products which means they harden into an almost porcelain consistency and they start drying in literally about a minute. That means once you get going, you can’t keep going back over the same spot if there are bubbles or streaks, but don’t worry because they’re also pretty self-leveling so should dry better than they look wet. Trust us. On the plus side, the actual painting part is just the same as regular painting with a roller so it’s really easy.

Thirdly, it’ll take a few coats to get the final look (especially if you’re doing a dark-to-light surface like our vanity countertop). So, don’t freak out when it looks like Oreo ice cream melted on your countertop after coat one, just trust that a couple more coats will do the trick.

Fourthly (and lastly before I actually tell you about the products), prep is the most important step with this stuff. Good cleaning, taping, removing caulk and roughing up the surface is essential to getting the paint to adhere well and even though it’s so tedious, it’s worth it because you’ll look at your end result (hopefully) daily as you take a shower.

Now, onto the products

Homax Tough as Tile

This is the kit we used most recently in our bathroom refresh and I loved it. Spoiler: If I do another one of these paint jobs, I’ll definitely grab this product first.

What I liked about it was that it was an all-in-one kit, whereas the Tub & Tile refinishing kit had a Part A and Part B that needed to be mixed.

I felt very science-class-with-a-beaker and you’re on an even stricter time limit with the Tub & Tile as a result of that mixing. Plus, just having the one can of paint with the Homax product means you likely have some leftover for touch-ups if you need it (though I did later find that Rustoleum sells mini touch-up tubs for the Tub & Tile)

The Tough as Tile also is a very thorough kit. It comes with gloves, steel wool and a cleaning pad as well as the paint which was really handy.

It’s a little hard for me to compare the two surface-wise, because in the last house we painted over fiberglass and in this one the shower surround was tile, but they seem similar in color and sheen.

Rustoleum Tub & Tile kit 

This was the product we used in the two bathrooms at our old house and it does an amazing job at coverage and drying really smooth, but there were a couple of points that to me gave the Tough as Tile an advantage.

Fumes-wise, I think the Tub and Tile was a little stronger. I mean, they both are like you’ve got a family of chemicals squatting in your house for a few days, but I think this kit lingered around a bit longer than the other one did.

In a plus for the Tub & Tile, the paint itself went on really smooth and coverage-wise I think spread further than the Tough as Tile did.

It dried fairly quickly, allowing me to get multiple coats done in one night and let it dry overnight. I think the box recommends not using the shower for three days afterwards, but that’s not too different from the other kit, either. These things take some planning (especially for us in this new one-bathroom household).

The verdict

The verdict is: PAINT YOUR GROSS OLD TUB. But seriously, what are you waiting for? Learning how to paint bathroom tile is super intimidating but I promise isn’t as hard as it seems. I personally prefer the Tough as Tile kit for the few reasons I mentioned above like how all the prep stuff is included in the kit and the fact you don’t need to mix the paint together, but both will get the job done really well.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the price! At our local home improvement stores, the Tub & Tile is a little bit cheaper, but compared to having a tub reglazed or replaced, you’re still winning the budget game.

Make sure to check out our whole bathroom makeover post to see what else we did in there, and sign up to our newsletter for more DIY projects and tips.