# Paint peeling off tile



## crescere (Aug 17, 2012)

My basement had moisture issues, so I put in a good dehumidifier which is working well in that I do not have any musty odors. However the odd thing is that now much of the paint on the ceramic wall tiles is peeling off throughout the basement. I do not know what kind of paint the prior owner used. The tiles look good underneath the paint so I do not know why she painted them in the first place. Why is this happening and do I now have to paint all of it correctly to get an even color and stop the peeling look?


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## Jmayspaint (May 4, 2013)

Wow, that is odd... Sorry I don't think I can help much except to say you will probably need to strip the tile and start over. 
Interested to see if anyone has any ideas on how lower humidity could cause peeling. I suspect the paint was never bonded to begin with, and somehow the humidity change caused it to peel. 
In an area where its not peeling, see if you can easily scratch the paint off with your fingernail or a butter knife.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

When you say ceramic wall tile what exactly do you mean? Is this in a downstairs shower or something?

Painting tile ranks right up there with painting wallpaper and should not be done. It does sound like the prior owner was tired of the color or something or needed to hide something to get the home sold. I am guessing she also applied paint without a bonding primer. 

Getting primer and paint to stick to tile in a wet environment is tricky. Paint will peel as fast from lack of humidity as it will with too much---maybe more so. In the case of tile, you have a material that cools and heats fairly quickly and the paint is just not stretching/expanding or shrinking/contracting with it. If this was a cosmetic band-aid job I just bet it was also cheap paint to start with. 

Scrape off all the peeling paint and apply a bonding primer if you are stuck painting the tile again. Then apply two coats of finish. This will be a regular maintenance chore if the tile is in a shower area or something.

If the tile looks good underneath, you might think about renting an infrared stripper and taking all the paint off? You might have to deal with the grout but it would be a better long term solution than priming and painting it.


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

Painting ceramic tile is dicey at best. If a good bonding primer was not used, the paint had little to no chance of sticking for very long. It may just be coincidental that they are peeling after you put in the dehumidifier. This could be one of those times where a HO, for a quick sale, dressed up the tile with a quick paint job to get the house sold, not paying much attention to proper prep work.


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

sdsester said:


> When you say ceramic wall tile what exactly do you mean? Is this in a downstairs shower or something?
> 
> Painting tile ranks right up there with painting wallpaper and should not be done. It does sound like the prior owner was tired of the color or something or needed to hide something to get the home sold. I am guessing she also applied paint without a bonding primer.
> 
> ...


 
I agree but I bet it will be argued:whistling2:


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

chrisn said:


> I agree but I bet it will be argued:whistling2:


Gee by whom.


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## crescere (Aug 17, 2012)

I have had this house for more than four years and the paint did not start doing this till a few days after I put in the dehumidifier about two weeks ago. 

No this is not a shower area. It is just a finished area with a gas fireplace.


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

It could be just the big change in the humidity levels dried the paint out more.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

If it has been on for 4 plus years and without a primer under it, it may just have reached the end of its life and the peeling is mostly coincidental. Dropping the humidity just accelerated the process a bit perhaps.


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## crescere (Aug 17, 2012)

How do I get the rest of the paint off the tiles or do I need to do that?


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

chrisn said:


> I agree but I bet it will be argued:whistling2:





ToolSeeker said:


> Gee by whom.


I'm sure they will be along shortly.....they most likely saw it on "Design on a Dime"....hey...it looked good on TV....(no one said it had to last)


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## crescere (Aug 17, 2012)

Does anyone have ideas on how to get the rest of the paint off so I do not have this peeling mess? Eventually it may all just peel off on its own, but that may take a while.


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## MTN REMODEL LLC (Sep 11, 2010)

chrisn said:


> I agree but I bet it will be argued:whistling2:





ToolSeeker said:


> Gee by whom.


OK...OK... I'll fess up...I've done it.... and I'll bet 50% of you all have.

In my personal home, many years ago... original owners had not sized anything... and we removed alot of the paper with finger nails and strips 1/2 wide and 3" long (1978 build, we bought 1985).

As best I can recall, I think I glued any loose seems, hit it with an oil base primer (cover stain maybe), orange pealed it, and painted it. IT HAS BEEN FINE FOR 25+ years.

I would not recommend it .... but I did get away with it.:yes:

Best...

Peter


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

crescere said:


> Does anyone have ideas on how to get the rest of the paint off so I do not have this peeling mess? Eventually it may all just peel off on its own, but that may take a while.


I think I already mentioned an infrared stripper. Expensive to buy but hard to rent since demand for them backs up this time of year. If you buy one, you should be able to get almost what you paid for it back when you are finished.


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