Painting exposed tile cement at the edge of a run of tiles

[DH05]

Hi all, any advice on this would be appreciated.

I have a bathroom wall that is tiled up to half way up from the floor. The tiler used a very thick bed of cement (about 1 cm thick). Along the top edge, the cement is clearly visible and it is not very even. I'm painting the wall above and would like to paint over the 1 cm of tile cement right up the the edge of the tiles (can you visualise what I'm describing?). Because it's uneven, I'd like to put a thin layer of filler to square it off before I paint. Condensation will tend to run down the wall and onto the top edge of the tiles.

What filler should I use and how should I prepare it to take the final coats of paint. In some spots, the layer of filler will have to be quite thin so I need something that will adhere well to the tile cement, can accept paint and will withstand condensation run-off.

 

[Nestor_Kelebay]

What about grouting the exposed edge of those tiles, and then painting up to the grout.

That's what I do in all my bathrooms to avoid having to pay extra for bullnose tiles... cuz I'm tight as the bark on a poplar tree.

If you're at all concerned that this would look funny, take a look at the picture of one of my bathrooms on my web site at:

http://www.ilos.net/~nkelebay

So far in 21 bathrooms and over nearly 20 years, I've never even had a tenant comment on my grouting the edge of the tiles instead of using bullnose tiles. And, if they did ask, I'd tell them that the difference in appearance is almost non-existant, but the difference in cost of the tiles is considerable.

 

[DH05]

Nestor, in Europe there is a tendency to use large tiles and there are no special shapes available, ceretainly no bullnose pieces as I used to get in the States. The tiles in question are 40cm square, which is about 16 inches and they're 3/8 inch thick.

Because of the way the cement has been finished off, I'm not too sure there's enough surface for the grout to adhere to. I imagine grout is good at staying put when it's jammed between tiles, not when it's sitting on top of a surface of tile cement.

I was hoping to identify a good filler product that will adhere well, takes paint and will withstand moisture.

 

[Nestor_Kelebay]

Mixing your grout with a concrete bonding agent would probably work, but there is another alternative:

Drywall joint compounds come in three different flavours;

"Taping" or "Regular" have had the most glue added to them so that they stick the best, but also dry the hardest,

"Topping" or "Finish" have had the least glue added to them so that they sand smooth the easiest, and

"All Purpose" is half way in between the first two so that the contractor can just take one box, bucket or bag with him and use it for everything.

If the edges of these tiles are out of the wettest area of your shower, you might consider using an All Purpose or Regular drywall joint compound to smooth out the edges of your tiling, sand smooth, prime and paint.

 

[DH05]

the drywall compounds I'm familiar with are water soluble when they dry! They're the last thing I'd use in this location. (some even say that instead of sanding, you can smooth them with a wet sponge after they've hardened) Interesting, though, that they come in three flavors. All I've seen in the UK is one variety.