How to Paint Over Marble

There are a number of reasons why people decide to paint over marble fireplaces, tables and other types of furniture and other items. Marble is a beautiful surface when it has been taken care of, but it can discolor with age, or become stained or chipped and look like a mess. Sometimes the color just isn't livable, as in a pink fireplace in the living room. Whatever the reason may be, painting marble is doable. It may be a bit unconventional but it is certainly something you can do.

Instructions

1. Begin with a game plan because there are several ways to go when painting marble, but they all involve preparing the surface. Marble is so highly polished that no amount of paint would adhere to it without some prep work. There are different ways to go with it, however.

2. Sand the marble with a 36-grit sandpaper which will amount to nothing more than giving it a good scuffing up. Make sure to cover the entire surface. Run your hand over it completely because wherever there’s a glossy smooth finish, your paint may soon be peeling off. Take your time, sanding it gently but thoroughly to a dull slightly roughened feel.

3. Apply an oil based slow drying primer. Be prepared for a good long wait for it to dry. You should also be prepared for the rather nasty smell that oil paints can have until they’re good and dry. If you are painting something like a fireplace that can’t be put outside you may want to consider other options or you may just choose to spend a couple of days elsewhere while it dries.

4. Paint over the primer when it has completely dried with good quality oil based paint. It will make a lovely sturdy finish but this paint will smell and take a while to dry as well so know what you’re getting into before you start.

5. Prep the marble for the second type of solution by sanding it with 80-grit sandpaper. This is much finer sandpaper. Again, you need to make sure that there are no glossy spots left untouched. Every bit of it has to be roughed up for the paint to stick to it. After sanding, clean the surface with acetone (available at hardware, home improvement and some department stores).

6. Prime it if you wish but you can also just paint it. Without a primer you will have to paint several coats of paint with several hours between each coat to dry. You can’t know how many coats it will take until you’re in the project so I would choose to use a primer to avoid endless painting, especially if there’s a dark color involved as well. Primer always makes a better and longer lasting finish. And, it almost always means less work so it’s usually well worth the extra cost of it.

7. Keep your painted marble up exactly as you would any other painted surface. Check the paint can to see about cleaning the surface. If you are painting a table top or anything that will be used for more than looking at, it would be best to choose a semi gloss or high gloss finish.

Tips & Warnings

• Make really sure that you sand the marble completely so that every inch is scuffed up well. Otherwise you'll have paint coming off in spots down the road.

• Keep windows opened when waiting for oil based paint to dry to avoid the fumes bothering you too much.

• Also ventilate the room when using acetone.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish