How can I tell if my bathroom floor is ceramic or porceline tile?
I desperately want to paint or cover this tile with something but I don't really know what the tile is made of. The house was built in the mid 70's and is 1 inch squares. They are in bad need of repair or replace or paint or something.
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Porcelain is made from a denser clay, and is always glazed. If you have unglazed tile, it has to be ceramic rather than porcelain. Porcelain has more luster, and if you scratch it or lightly chip it, you'll see the same color underneath; if you nick clay tile, the unfinished clay will show.
But you can paint both porcelain and ceramic tile, as long as it's not inside a shower or pool, or somewhere else where it will be subjected to constant moisture. You'll also need additional coats of urethane over the tile if it's in a high-traffic area.
I plan on painting the ugly tiles in my bathroom. After much research, I decided that the best option was a high adhesion primer and then a porch and patio floor paint. If you use the porch & patio floor paint then you don't need a polyurethane coat on top of the paint! Good luck with the painting!!