Removing layers of paint and tiling bathroom

[Xad]

My bathroom has several layers of paint, several gloss and then a matte specifically for bathrooms. Of course, it's started peeling again, so i'd like to instead tile this time (it already is half tiled from years ago).

What is the best way to remove the paint. I've been researching heat guns, tried finding videos on youtube to see how fast/effective they are, surprisingly there aren't many videos of just stripping paint off walls with heatguns.

Would the heatgun be best? Or can i just scape off the peeling parts of the paint, and tile over the whole thing?

Also, is tiling over painted walls a bad idea? If so, is it worse for gloss than matte due to it's solid, shiny surface?

Finally, how good are heat guns? Do you have to hold the gun at a spot for a while before you scape, or is it a case of slowly moving it and stripping at the same time?

 

[TheDec]

Sounds like you have a very unstable surface there so probably better to strip the lot off and start again. A heat gun is very effective in cases like yours, just flirt the gun over the surface and when the paint starts to soften remove it with a scraper.

Concentrate on small areas at a time as opposed to trying to do the whole area at once, also bare in mind that the paint will give off fumes, some may even contain lead, all depends really when they were applied. So wear the appropiate respirator and a good pair of gloves.

Golden rule here is don't keep the gun over the same area for to long this could very well damage the plaster.

Dec

 

[Richard C]

If the paint is peeling or there is any doubt about adhesion you cannot tile over it. There aren’t many videos of stripping paint off walls with heat guns because, surprisingly, it's not the way to do it . If your walls are plastered, using a heat gun to strip the paint will blow all the plaster skim off the wall & you’ll be left with a real mess & a lot of remedial work; if it’s plasterboard, you may even destroy that as well if you apply too much heat; plaster will not tolerate more than 49C.

What are the walls made of? What size tiles are you going to use? Are you tiling wet areas? Are you tiling the floor? You would do well to learn a little more about tiling before you go any further or buy anything; take a look at the Tiling Forum Sticky & archive posts; it may prevent you making disastrous & potentially expensive mistakes.

 

[Xad]

They're small 15 x 15 cm tiles. Not sure about the wall type, it's a small bathroom and the house was built in the mid 80's. If i had to guess i'd say it's plasterboard? The walls are very thin in the house.

I did the first few rows of tiles over the gloss paint about 10 years ago and it's held up, but the paint above it peels off at the section where water splashes on the wall due to the shower position (the rest of the paint is fine and not peeling). Been researching a bit about scraping paint off because the additional tiling i wanted to do is slightly higher up and thought it'd be better to remove the paint.

What is the proper way to remove paint? Is it to by sanding? I remember i tried to sand the gloss paint with an orbital sander (rectangle base) when i painted the wall matte, but it didn't remove much at all, maybe a bit of shine. But i have a basic 140w sander, and the grit was 80 i think.

 

[TheDec]

When you asked for advice with regard to the use of a heatgun I assumed that you were aware of what the underlying substrate was, Painters & Decorators often use the gun for the removal of paint, it is a very effective method, after all we are talking about the gentle use of hot air not a blowlamp.

Advice on tiling should really be obtained on the tilers forum, now if only one area of your paintwork is flaking you should remove the flaking paint with a scraper then sand the entire areas down. An electric sander with the approiate grit would be fine for this.

Dec

 

[Richard C]

They're small 15 x 15 cm tiles.

OK if your only going to lay similarly sized tiles you won’t have problems but if your considering anything much larger than 250mm then you need extra prep.

Not sure about the wall type, it's a small bathroom and the house was built in the mid 80's. If i had to guess i'd say it's plasterboard? The walls are very thin in the house.

From what you say & the age of the house, sounds like crap plasterboard.

but the paint above it peels off at the section where water splashes on the wall due to the shower position (the rest of the paint is fine and not peeling).

Wet areas always require special preparation or they won’t last very long.

Been researching a bit about scraping paint off because the additional tiling i wanted to do is slightly higher up and thought it'd be better to remove the paint.

Not necessary if it’s sound but it sounds like yours isn’t.

What is the proper way to remove paint? Is it to by sanding? I remember i tried to sand the gloss paint with an orbital sander (rectangle base) when i painted the wall matte, but it didn't remove much at all, maybe a bit of shine. But i have a basic 140w sander, and the grit was 80 i think.

It’s very unusual to want or need to remove paint from walls; if tiling over, it’s usually a waste of time as you can tile over most surfaces providing they are sound & with the right prep. If large format tiles are gong on there (too heavy for plaster/plasterboard) just rip it down & re-board or even re-board over what’s already there. Sometimes all your doing is breaking your balls & wasting time by doing unnecessary preparation, hence the reason for my questions to try & understand where you want to be with it.

 

[Richard C]

Painters & Decorators often use the gun for the removal of paint, it is a very effective method, after all we are talking about the gentle use of hot air not a blowlamp.

Not knocking you m8, you’re a professional & know what you’re about but steamers in inexperienced hands can be a nightmare & cause an awful lot of damage to plastered walls, let alone using a heat gun.

Advice on tiling should really be obtained on the tilers forum,

now if only one area of your paintwork is flaking you should remove the flaking paint with a scraper then sand the entire areas down. An electric sander with the approiate grit would be fine for this.

It’s often not necessary, as long as it's sound you can tile over it with the right prep; but if it isn’t, in all honesty, it’s often quicker & easier to overboard or rip it down & start again.

 

[TheDec]

Richard,

I know where your coming from here and both fully understand your concerns and appreciate your reply, sometimes within the trade of Decorating it is often difficult to offer the correct advice.

Speaking for myself, advice is offered only from a knowledge of the trade and an assumption that the asker of the advice can understand the methodical and often involved actions of it. Yet it remains never easy.

Dec