Can you tile on water-based paint?

[smittyboi]

Have recently renovated my house, bench top goes in within the next week and I'm then wanting to tile a splash back in the kitchen, I have just recently painted the whole house including the kitchen where the splash back will sit. My question is can I tile over the waterbased paint or am I gonna have to remove all of what's just been painted in the area?

[EricL]

Hello @smittyboi 

The good news is yes, you can tile over your painted wall. But before you begin, I recommend sanding it down first with Flexovit 115mm x 1m 120 Grit Painted Surface Sandpaper Roll - 120 Grit. The purpose of sanding the wall is to rough up the surface. This will give the tile adhesive a good base to anchor onto.

It's not necessary to sand all of the paint off, it just needs to be very rough. Once you've sanded it down, make sure to wipe off all the sanding dust on the wall before you begin tiling. If you find that your sandpaper gets gummed up quickly. I suggest giving the painted wall several more days to cure so that the paint hardens.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[LukeA]

I have exactly the same situation as the original poster. Have walls with water based paint and want to tile a back splash - is there a recommended tile adhesive to use after sanding rough (keep seeing info that says the adhesive doesn’t like water based paint).

[EricL]

Hello @LukeA 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's marvellous to have you join us.

I suggest having a look at the Dunlop 20kg Trade Resaflex. Resaflex can be used over green screeds, render, plasterboard, fibre-cement sheet (walls), compressed fibre-cement sheet (floors). 

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric