How to Make Faux Tumbled Marble Tile
Installing faux marble tiles is one way to enhance your home's appearance and add a customized touch to your décor without the cost of real marble tiles. Faux marble finish can be added to almost any surface, from walls and doors to countertops and tiling. You can add faux marble finish to tiles either before installing new tiles or to spruce up your existing floor or wall tiling. While anyone can add the one-of-a-kind look of faux finish to their home, marble is one of the most complicated finishes to achieve, so it is not recommended for novice finishers. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Ceramic tile
- Caulk
- Household cleaners
- Sandpaper
- Vacuum
- Foam brushes
- Sponge
- Feather
- Semi-gloss or high-gloss oil paints in two colors
- Water-based urethane finish
Instructions
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Select the tile you would like to make into your faux tumbled marble tile. Choose a tile surface that will not be exposed to water regularly. Floor, wall and counter tiles are good choices, but faux marble finish will not last on bathroom tiles.
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Clean the selected area of tile and grout with household cleaners containing mild abrasives. Remove all dirt, grease and mold. Also look for any cracks or chips in the tile, and repair chips and caulk cracks, allowing caulk to dry completely before moving on to the faux marble finish.
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Sand the tiles lightly and remove all dust particles with a vacuum or spray duster and towel. Any particles left behind will get caught in the paint and become a permanent part of your faux marble tiles.
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Choose a semi-gloss or high-gloss oil paint for the ceramic tiles. Water-based paints do not stick as well to household surfaces as oil paints do. Choose one color for the base color and a second color for the veins in the marble.
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Add paint thinner to the paint to achieve a workable consistency. Follow directions on the can for suggestions on adding paint thinner. Several thin coats of paint achieve a preferable result and are easier to work with than one heavy coat.
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Apply a base coat in the main color for your faux tumbled marble tile with a foam brush. Allow this coat to dry for two hours. The paint may not be completely dry after two hours, but the color will stick to the marble.
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Add veins in the second color using the tip of a feather dipped in the paint. Paint with a swiveling motion to create lines that vary in thickness and have slight bends and curves. Allow the veins to dry for 5 minutes.
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Apply a second coat of the base color, thinned or mixed with clear gloss finish. Blot the second coat on with a sponge, taking care to soften the veins but not blur the lines. Allow the second coat to dry for five minutes. Then blot the entire surface of the tile with a sponge to soften the lines once more.
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Accentuate the veins if desired. Allow the second coat on the veins to dry for two hours before finishing.
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Finish with a top coat of water-based urethane or other gloss finish, applying with even strokes. Urethane is recommended for floors, since it is the material used to finish and protect hardwood floors and can maintain the painted floor for many years. Buff and dust if directed, and apply a second or third coat if desired.
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Tips & Warnings
Practice painting on a single tile to try out your faux marble finish before doing the entire floor or wall. You may also find it helpful to base your design on a picture or piece of real marble, for modeling colors and shapes of veins.
