Painting unfinished tile edges

[MaryWesmacott]

Hi all

Moved into a new (to me) house that was built 5 years ago and realised the developers used tiles with unfinished edges in the bathroom and where there are corners pointing outwards (if you see what I mean) you can clearly see the raw terracotta of the tile. As the tiles have a white surface this looks pretty rubbish. However, we're not planning to do over as would be a pain and expensive.

So my question, has anyone ever painted the tile edges in this situation and if so with what? Also did it last? Alternatively if you did anything else to make it look better I'd love to hear.

Thanks!

XXX

Wouldn’t using a trim look better? We have brushed brass trim in our bathroom to match the taps etc

Hi @muddlingthrou - unfortunately most trims can't be retrofitted. It's something you have to use while the tiling is being done. There are a few that can be glued on e.g. eu.schluter.com/en-GB/edge-protecting-profiles-273/e/20513/eck-k but I'm hesitant to do that because of dirt etc getting stuck in the junction potentially. Thanks for the suggestion though.

I believe you can buy retrofit trim which you just stick on. Otherwise you could have a go with silicone beading especially if there is a sort of triangle shape to fill at the edge, but it can be tricky to get a professional finish.

I have not tried paint.

We’ve just done this, white tiles on a dark blue wall so noticed a lot - painted white when I did the woodwork - looks great

That's interesting @exhaustedbeinghappy - did you paint the edges with an oil based gloss or one of the water based ones?

Ah my mistake I’ve just checked … actually painted the edges with the blue wall paint which is Dulux bathroom paint!

Use caulk?

I realise that I may not have explained where the raw edges where clearly enough so here is a picture. The developers have tried to box something in and just left all the raw edges exposed which is terrible. If I had bought the house from new that would have gone straight on the snagging list! However, I think we're just going to have to make the best of it for now. Any more suggestions???

Seems picture won't load - that's annoying

Is it recessed at all so you can use a silicone edge? Ideally those should be mitered, but it's a bitch of a job so I can see why they didn't. Second best is you leave the gap and fill it with grouting/sealant or a trim.

If there is no gap, try painting it with bathroom paint. At worst you will have the same thing but in a blending colour. You can usually lightly sand the edges of terracotta tiles so that the paint adheres.

Thanks @CatherinedeBourgh - that's helpful. No mitreing sadly just really shoddy workmanship in my opinion. It's a shame I can't load the photo to show you what I mean.

I've painted tiles successfully with oil based gloss. But if they aren't going to get wet, then I'm certain that water based would be fine.

I've painted tiles successfully with oil based gloss. But if they aren't going to get wet, then I'm certain that water based would be fine.

The proper way to tile external corners is to have the tiles chamfered on one side at a 45 degree angle. Then when you butt those edges together as you tile, you just get a grout line where they meet at the corner. Looks much better than trims for the edge, but it is a faff. Sounds like your tiles have just been butted together, no champfers nor trims, leaving the terracotta biscuit edges exposed. I paint in chips in my ancient cream coloured ceramic tiled floor with sample pots of emulsion paint. The paint covers the terracotta and wears surprisingly well. I will get around to getting a new floor some day……

Thanks @Noseyoldcow - yes I'm sure there are various ways it could have been done better - cruddy cheapskate builders! I'll have a go with some paint I think - it can't go too badly wrong