Tutorial: How to Paint Old Tile Grout

So far this week I have showed you how to sew your own crib sheet, create a rouched flower to use in all of your accessorizing, and to use that old t-shirt you have had laying around to make a fun, cute headband!

Since we are headed into the weekend, and a holiday weekend for those of you in the US of A {happy Labor Day!!}, I thought a little DIY home improvement project was in order for today.

Do you have tile in your home that in some way, shape, or form resembles this?


Eeewww gross!!! Right??

That is the bar counter in my dining room. Nice, huh? I have tried everything to get it clean!! I tried bleach, a magic eraser, 409, clorox wipes, a scrubber sponge... and a whole lot of elbow grease! And that is how it looks... yikes!

I love to use this counter to place food on when we have company over, and although I know it is super DUPER clean {thanks to that elbow grease} my company may think otherwise.

I contemplated the cost of just replacing the whole thing with a piece of butcher block, or even getting rid of the whole thing altogether because it's such an eye sore.

Then I stumbled upon this little guy.


He may be small, but he packs a powerful punch!! Oh ya!! Here's what he did {well, I helped} with that ugly, nasty, clean but gross counter top.

Did you hear that!?! If you listen closely I think you can hear an angelic chorus singing "hallelujah"!

Yep, that little guy.... my new best friend... did that! Best thing about him.... only $7!!! Yep, that's it, $7 for what looks like a brand new bar counter! He covers something like 170 linear feet... so it easily covered all the grout on my counter and I am TOTALLY using it on my kitchen counters as well... which look a lot like that before photo... clean, but gross.

My tile is at least 10-15 years old. I opted for this method {painting the grout} rather than tearing up the grout and re-grouting because of time and cost. We know we won't live here forever, and if we do, we hope to remodel the kitchen anyway... so something like this that will last a couple years is right up our alley!

Here's how it works.

First, visit your local Lowe's and pick up a pen, maybe two depending on the space you need to cover. Bring it home and make sure the surface you are painting is really clean... and dry! Then open the pen and shake, shake, shake. The package says to shake it for 2 minutes. It has one of those ball things inside to mix up the paint {kind of like spray paint}.

{my pen looks slightly different than the one online, but it's teh exact same thing!}

Grab a paper plate and a damp paper towel. Press the tip of your pen onto the paint for a few seconds to start the paint flowing. Then paint away! If the paint seems to slow, simply shake it a little, and press the tip on your plate again and it will start the paint flowing again!


I found it best to just run the pen along the edge of the grout - as close to the tile as I could - on one side, then go back and do the other side of the grout. Work in either straight lines, or small squares to make sure you don't miss any spots. The really nasty stains took two coats.

Here's a look half-way done. You can really see the difference it makes! The tiles really POP where the grout has been painted. Even though I didn't do anything to them, they look whiter.


Keep your damp paper towel handy. If you accidentally get some paint on the tile, just wipe it away using the towel.

When you are done, make sure that you allow the paint to dry completely. Mine was dry to the touch in a couple hours, but the package recommends waiting 8 hours.

The package doesn't say that you need to seal it at all, but from what I have read from different reviews on the Lowe's website, the company actually recommends that you seal it.. especially if you are painting the grout of your floor or bathtub tiles. Once I am DONE with the entire kitchen I will look into sealing it myself.

I am just in awe of the results! I want to throw a party just so I can put food out on there now!!! Yippee!!

Just for kicks, here's the before again...


...and an after shot...


..ok, two after shots.. because I love looking at my "new" bar counter!!


What project{s} are you tackling this weekend!?!?

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