Easy Steps to Painting Your Tile Floor

• Plan out where you’ll paint first. Will you paint the entire surface at once or do it in digestible bites? I like to be sure I have all of my supplies before I get started so I don’t squirrel off in a million directions after I get in a groove.

• Do this project in sections so you can get to the clear coating and protecting faster for each area. Chalk mineral paint is porous and hard to keep clean without a clear coat so doing it in sections that you can complete within a 48 hour period of time will help.
• Avoid the immediate spot in front of the entry door so that you can let it set

1. Start with a good vacuuming.
2. Clean and scrub at least twice with the white lightning cleaner, scrubby sponge and lint free cloth. This is a de-greaser and de-glosser so it will pull off any oils and residue that is sure to be sitting on the surface of your tile floors.
3. When you’re certain that the floors are clean enough to eat off of, rinse twice with a spray bottle of water and wipe dry both times. Be sure to clean the grout well too.

TIP-It’s best to clean the entire floor, even parts that you won’t be painting because you don’t want dirt floating around and hopping onto your wet paint.

1. Start by taping off your area
2. Use the foam roller to apply 2 light coats of slick stick over the entire surface
3. Let dry well in between coats
4. Wipe off sanding dust with tack cloth or clean, damp lint free cloth

If you find that you have areas that are rough or have brush strokes, you can lightly sand with 220 grit sanding block or finishing pad to smooth out the finish. Touch up lightly where needed

1. With a damp brush or roller start applying the paint in light coats. Light coats will allow for good coverage and fast dry time as well as a smoother overall finish.
2. Let dry completely in between coats. If you try to over-brush the paint while it is trying to dry and it gets a little prickly, just add a mist of water to it or let it dry and sand lightly until smooth. Touch up with a light amount on your brush.
3. Keep your brush or roller damp with the mister to keep the paint moving smoothly. Don’t be stingy with the paint but if it is pooling in areas, you know it’s too thick and you can mist it to even it out.

 

Supplies for Painting the Surface

• 32 oz. of Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint in Fluff (approximately 3 oz. per square foot
• Tip: Your amount may be more if you you use a super stark white like Dixie Belle Cotton or if you are covering a very dark tile with a light color or super light tile with a dark color
• Synthetic Large Flat Brush
• High Density Foam Roller Kit
• Lint free cloth
• Finishing pad or 220 grit sanding block
• Craft brush for detailed or tight areas
• Mister or spray bottle with water

Painted Floor Layers

Step 5 Stenciling The Surface

1. Choose A Stencil Design I chose a design that was free with my Cricut Access subscription and set it at about 11.5 x 11.5. I wanted to have some space in between my 12” square tiles because I decided to paint the grout with the hurricane grey as well.
2. Carefully place the stencil on each tile, taping the edges to keep them in place. I decided not to use spray adhesive because I was concerned that it would affect the durability of my final product. When the stencil is where you want it, it’s time to stencil. This is a bit more time consuming than the past two steps so now would be a great time to grab your knee pads or garden mat & get comfortable.

Stenciling the Floor

1. Dab your DRY premium chip brush in the paint color of choice ( I used Dixie Belle Hurricane Grey) and tap off the excess if it is drippy. Less is often more when you are stenciling. It’s a happy medium. You want to make life easier by using more paint but you don’t want your brush so overloaded that it seeps under the stencil. It’s a good idea to lift the stencil up after you’ve stenciled a bit to see how your technique is working.
2. Keep your brush moving straight up and down so it’s less likely to work itself under the stencil as well. Dab, Dab, Dab, your way to a beautiful stencil finish.  I prefer the less perfect, hand painted look so slightly uneven coverage with some variance was what I chose but you can create any finish you’d like.
3. After your stencil gets cakes with paint, clean it off and let it dry on an old towel.
4. Use one of your other stencils to continue and repeat as necessary

 

Stenciling the floor

When you’ve completed an entire section, go sit for a spell and grab a cup of coffee, glass of wine or a cold beer and admire your hard work and beautiful floors because you’ll need it to finish this job up.

 

Supplies for Stenciling

• Purchase a stencil Online. I suggest purchasing 2-3 so you can have one to use while the others are being cleaned and dried.
• or Make your own with your cutting machine with list below

• • Cricut Explore Air cutting machine Or you can buy stencils online

• • Mylar stencil film 6 mil Pack of 10 but I only used 3 of the 12” x 12” squares
  • Cricut Medium Grip Mat 

• • Cricut Weeding Tool

• Premium Chip Brush to stencil with

• Variety pack of craft brushes for touch ups

• Dixie Belle Hurricane Grey Chalk Mineral Paint in 32 oz. Didn’t use all of it & wanted extra for framing out the tiled area of the floor

• High density roller if that’s what you like to stencil with

• Painters tape to hold down the stencil

1. Start touch ups once the stenciling is dry and complete
2. Use various sized craft brushes to do your touch ups.
3. Go light with the paint and do a couple coats so that the touch ups blend seamlessly with the rest of the finish.
4. Use the micro sized craft brush to clean up the lines and edges and use the ¼ inch to do larger areas of touching up. Fill in any areas that the tape may have blocked.