How to Remove Paint from Bathroom Tile?I just moved into a new apartment and hope to re-paint the top half of the bathroom a dramatic color, possibly black! There are tiles running halfway up the wall, but it looks like whoever painted it last didn't have the precise care of a sane person and totally taped and painted over the top half of the tile trim... Is there any easy way to remove this? I'm scared the strip of white paint on the tile is going to look super weird and obvious once I paint the top half. Even if I don't paint, it just looks bad and I'd love to get rid of it. Editor: What a mess! Any advice for how Andrea can remove the paint from the tile, ideally without spending too much time, investing too much money, or damaging the tile? And what if she can't remove it — how should she proceed with her bathroom re-do?Send us yours with a photo or two attached (questions with photos get answered first). How to Strip Masonry Paint How to Strip Masonry Paint Masonry paint is used mostly on outdoor brick walls.

People tend to coat older paint with new paint, which results in flaking and peeling over time. You can have the wall professionally re-rendered or follow the steps below to effectively strip masonry paint off your wall. Step 1 – Take Appropriate Precautions Wear elbow length gloves and old clothes when working with caustic mixtures as they can severely burn your skin. When preparing the mixture, use a wooden stick and keep the mixture away from your skin and clothing. Step 2 – Remove Flaking Paint If masonry paint is not properly applied—i.e. the wall was not properly rendered or not allowed to dry, or if coat after coat of paint was applied—the top layer of paint will start peeling and flaking. You are likely to have bubbles in your surface layer, too. Remove the superficial layer of paint and flaking using a putty knife or scraper. Many people use sandblasting and wire brushes; while these methods provide a quick fix, they can damage the top layer of your masonry wall, leaving the bricks porous.

Step 3 – Remove Fungus and Algae You can get rid of fungus and algae by preparing a bleach solution of a 3:1 ratio of bleach and water. Outdoor Furniture Screened PorchApply to the wall, and then hose away with hot water.Nascar Car Seat Covers Step 4 – Prep the Wall for Chemical TreatmentVertical Blinds Vs Horizontal Once you have removed the top layer of the paint and fungus, let the wall dry. While you wait, prepare a caustic mix to remove the remaining layers of paint. You can buy ready-made peel off mixes as well. To create the mixture, add about 300 grams of caustic soda to a liter of water. Then add flour to the solution and mix until you reach porridge-like consistency. Step 5 – Apply the Chemical Stripper

Apply the chemical stripper using an old flat brush or a scraper to the area being treated. You can mark out areas and do the stripping by per square foot measurements; if you need to, you can make the mix in batches. Once you have applied, leave the mix on for 2 days before you remove it. If you are using ready-made peel-away mixes, follow the instructions on the product packaging. Step 6 – Peeling Away Old Paint Use a pressure hose with hot water to wash away the mix off the wall. Your masonry wall will reveal itself as you hose down the mixture. Or you can use peeling strips which you apply on top of the mix, then strip away after the required time period. How to Apply Masonry Paint PrimerBy After working on your old house for a number of years, you’ve probably found that a fair amount of your time is consumed by correcting old “repairs” and “renovations.” No doubt they were installed with the best of intentions, but misguided repairs can be a death knell for old houses.

These mistakes often result from a homeowner’s lack of knowledge, haste, or desire to keep costs to a minimum. Don’t fall into this trap yourself—avoid these 10 pitfalls at all costs.With most products, you really do get what you pay for. The highest quality paints are usually among the most expensive; individual components that give paints longevity and durability are costly. Professional painters can be reluctant to change brands because they often receive trade discounts, but since the paint itself is usually only a small percentage of a paint job’s total cost, do your homework. Read reviews and choose the best paint you can afford. If a painter balks, ask him how many gallons he will need, and buy the paint for him. It’s time and money well spent.Even the finest paints money can buy will perform poorly if the underlying surface isn’t properly prepped. Rein in your desire to see the finished job as soon as possible, and take time to carefully remove old failing paint and sand all surfaces.

Follow by thoroughly cleaning to remove dirt and dust. Only at that point are you ready for priming. For best results on previously painted wood, use an alkyd primer manufactured by the same company producing the finish paint. Carefully caulk where necessary, then apply the finishing alkyd or latex paint after the primer has completely dried.As a filler, epoxy is a wonderful material. For those who don’t have deep pockets, it’s often the difference between a serviceable repair and an unaffordable rebuild. But don’t believe ads claiming epoxies can reconstruct entire wooden elements like the base of a column or the side jamb of a window. Epoxy is an expensive filler, and as a plastic, it doesn’t generally share the expansion and contraction characteristics of surrounding wood. These movement differentials show up over time as epoxy loses its flexibility. Eventually, the epoxy will break free of its surrounding material, leaving an even larger gap. Epoxy fillers function best when they’re used in limited roles.

It’s easy to be convinced that waterproof coatings are a cure for aging masonry or even wood siding. A number of industrial-coating manufacturers have entered the residential market with truly waterproof coatings. However, most houses are clad with a number of different materials that intersect at lines of unequal expansion and contraction; any coating will eventually admit water into these entry points. Problems arise when this water turns into water vapor that’s drawn into the house to ruin interior finishes, or drawn to the exterior, causing waterproof coatings to blister and peel. Painting a waterproof coating on your house is like putting it into a plastic bag; And houses need to breathe, since water enters from outside and is also generated in large volumes on the interior (by cooking, washing, and even exhaling). When coatings are absolutely necessary—to save spalling brick, for example—look for mineral silicate paints, which are durable and can transmit 90 percent of internal water vapors.

As with exterior waterproofing, homeowners sometimes try to fix damp or even wet basements by painting a waterproof coating on interior walls. But this causes “stopped” water flowing from outside to sit in masonry foundation walls for a prolonged period of time before finding a new route to the water table. In the meantime, two other things happen: First, the lime in mortar between the stones begins to dissolve. Second, the waterproof coating begins to blister. Always remember that water can be conducted, but rarely stopped. To dry out a basement, the approach must be made from the exterior by exposing foundation walls, coating their exteriors, and installing drainage around the home’s perimeter. Much of the time, simply unclogging downspouts, adding splash blocks, and re-grading eliminates the bulk of water infiltration.This concept often escapes even tradesmen who work routinely with sheet metal and metal fasteners. Metals are generally grouped by their atomic nature on a continuum.

On one end are metals that readily give up electrons (zinc and magnesium); on the other are those that readily accept them (silver, gold). In between these extremes lie copper, iron, lead, etc. Any time unlike metals are put into direct (electrical) contact, a reaction between them accelerates the corrosion of one over the other. For this reason, make sure you or your contractor always use like metals. Never, for example, fasten copper sheets with steel nails, or use aluminum downspouts on copper gutters.Removing paint applied to masonry is often high on the list of big-ticket repairs, but it must be done carefully. Sandblasting, while less common today than in the past, can cause lasting damage. Even high-pressure water can erode soft masonry. Before committing to any method, research the nature of your stone or brick. Is it mostly soft sandstone? Are the bricks hard-fired early 20th-century examples, or soft, hand-packed late 18th-century versions? An architectural conservator can help determine the best paint removal technique, but in the end, a chemical poultice might be the most appropriate solution.

Don’t be talked into the wrong technique; a mistake can be irreversible.Those of us who own wood-clad houses cringe at the thought of repainting, but sometimes supervising a contractor is even more difficult. To contractors, speed is of the essence. That’s why in the past 10 years, all but the hardiest have abandoned scraping and sanding for power-washing and -scraping. On the plus side, both techniques can be fast and effective. But power-washing strong enough to remove more than just the peeling paint can force gallons of water into the wood substrate, the wall cavity, and even the house. Power scrapers, which are like disc sanders but use spinning carbide blades instead of sandpaper, grind away paint but leave blade marks that are visible in raking light. They can be sanded out, but who wants to take that extra step? Chemicals, steam, infrared lamps, and cautiously applied heat guns, which have proven effective and are easy on the wood, are worth exploring.The interaction between mortar and different types of brick or stone is a complex one, but a misunderstanding here could cause failure in masonry that’s lasted hundreds of years.

There are two classes of mortars: those based on lime, and those based on Portland cement. Portand cement mortars are very hard and slow to transmit water or water vapor. Lime mortars are quite soft, and readily allow water and water vapor to pass. While Portland cement is a good pairing with modern hard-fired brick or hard stone, trouble arises when it’s used with older, hand-packed bricks fired at a low temperature (which are relatively soft) or fieldstones. In this pairing, the hard Portland cement mortar will cause soft brick and stone to deteriorate at a rapid pace. Lime mortars readily accommodate older brickwork. When in doubt, use a soft mortar.For exterior surfaces to be durable, they need to be able to shed rainwater, but design that allows a single drop of water to flow from a house’s highest point to the ground without getting stuck on a horizontal surface or vertical joint can be elusive. All exterior surfaces—from window sills to porch floors—should be angled away from the building.