How to remove epoxy paint from shower tiles?

[alex79]

Hi,

the previous owners of my bathroom decided to paint the shower floor. It’s been peeling off in shreds so I decided to get a paint stripper and remove the paint. I had no idea what a mess it would be and have been scraping and trying to remove this sticky mess for hours. Any tips to make this less painful? 😂

 

TIA😊

[JacobZ]

Hi @alex79,

Thank you for your post and welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you join us.

Unfortunately, as far as I'm aware, you are already using the easiest solution without removing the tiles altogether.

You could speed up the process by using a wider scraper such as this Hyde 4" Plasterboard Joint Knife. 

You could also remove the grout with a DTA Tile Scriber And Grout Remover and replace it with Dunlop 1.5kg Ultra White Flexible Coloured Grout. This would allow you to remove the grout alongside the tricky paint that is stuck to it in one go. 

Replacing grout can be a cheap and easy way to give the shower a refresh and beautify it with minimal effort.

If you want to replace the grout, you might like to check out How To Remove Grout and How To Grout Wall Tiles for some guidance.

Allow me to tag some of our savvy members to see if they've got any thoughts, @CSParnell, @TedBear, @Nailbag, @Dave-1. 

Jacob

[CSParnell]

@alex79 Hey mate a quick search and you may need an epoxy remover rather than a straight paint remover like some of the links below.

https://www.peelaway.com.au/peel-away-8/

https://www.westchem.com.au/shop/chemicals-by-industry/building-construction-chemicals/epoxy-two-pac...

@JacobZ Might be able to find something in th Bunnings range, I did have a quick look first of course but nothing but this is pretty industrial.

Remember PPE and ventilation using this type of products which of course Bunnings can cater you with that 😀

[Dave-1]

Good morning @alex79 

Wooooo thats a job and a half. Ive considered painting tiles before but luckily I dont have small tiles within the shower base.  Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community and must say thats a decent project to start out with! This is the perfect place to get some ideas on how to for a bunch of projects.

The floor looks like my front door when I was bringing it back, and believe me I wanted to walk away and buy a new door every now and then until I got into the swing of things. You are on the right track, just need more paint stripper and to keep going over it. Maybe use a not too abbrasive sponge after the paint stripper has gone off (I used a wire brush and a drill attachment but on tiles id suggest to resist that 😕 ) Tho you will be going through them fast, I am trying to think of something course without being abraisive.

Is the grey on some of the tiles the paint they used? What type of paint stripper did you choose? Just interested as it looks like its working and its always interesting seeing a product in action. (wise move with the gloves btw)

I broke my door down into 1/6ths, it made it more manageble and achievable to work in my mind.

Front entrance door renovation  is my project if you want to wander through tho paint stripping isnt the most exciting thing to do I must admit

Dave

[Nailbag]

Hi @alex79 looks like you have given yourself a ripper project. What's your aim as the final finish? The reason I ask is that even if you manage to remove all the "sticky mess" your still going to be still left with damaged tiles from all the scraping to deal with.

Nailbag