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How to Paint Grout

Painting grout is an amazing way to make your tile look like new.

It can make your tile floor look like it was just put down. 

Do you have old, discolored grout?

If so, you have a few options.

  1. tear out the floor and replace it.
  2. use a tool to chip all of the grout out.
  3. clean it or bleach it.
  4. PAINT IT.

When I moved into my first home, it had arabesque tile in great condition.  

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But the grout… ugh!

It was a yucky shade of brownish yellow that was formerly white.

Grout Renew
This picture makes the grout look way better than it actually was in real life.

There was no way I was going to be able to chip all that grout out, and there was REALLY no way I was going to tear up my arabesque tile, so I set out searching for a way to clean up the grout.

Long story short, I couldn’t!

I tried scrubbing, special cleaners and bleach to no avail.

My last option was to try a product called Poly Blend Grout Renew

It is a colorant and a sealant, and just what I needed.

Review of Grout Renew
I used Delorean Gray for my grout.

To start, I cleaned the grout with cleaner and rinsed it with water.  I left it alone until it was completely dry, and then began to paint the grout with the Grout Renew.

To apply it, I bought a thin paintbrush from a craft store.  I found that the bristles were too soft, so I cut the brush part down to about 1/8 of an inch long.  It worked much better this way.

It was a slow process, and no matter how hard I tried, I always seemed to get the grout paint on the tile. 

After reading horror stories on the internet of people getting this on their tile and having to painstakingly chip or scrub it off, I was worried that I would have difficulty getting it off the tile.

To try to combat this, I worked in small sections.

Grout Renew How To
On the left is where the Grout Renew has gotten on the tile. On the right is how it looked after I wiped it.

I painted the section of grout, waited until it had somewhat dried (5-10 minutes), then wiped the tile off with a slightly damp rag. 

In the end, I did end up with some extra Grout Renew on the tile, but I was easily able to wipe or scrape it off with my nail or a rag (and it did not pull the color off of the actual grout).  

I went section by section until the entire floor was complete.  Then I did another coat just for good measure.

Painting the grout made the tile look new again.

Using grout paint is a super easy, and super cheap ($13!) way to update your bathroom or kitchen and make the tile look amazing!

Grout Renew Review

I was so pleased with the results that I used grout paint in the color Snow White in the other bathroom for a different look. 

The white was just off from a pure white, but looked pure white against the white tile.

Here is another before and after in a different bathroom where I painted the grout:

Are you wondering how the grout paint held up?

I am going on three years that this tile has been painted and sealed with Grout Renew.  It still looks just like it did when it was first done. 

I have scrubbed the floors NUMEROUS times, and have never had an issue with the coloring coming off.

If you are on the fence, take the leap!  It completely changed my bathroom floors from looking constantly dirty to looking sparkly clean!

Paint Grout

How To Paint Your Tile Grout

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Active Time: 2 hours 1 second
Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes 1 second

Learn how to paint your tile grout to refresh the tile.

Materials

  • PolyBlend Grout Renew

Instructions

  1. Clean your grout with a mild cleanser. You don't need to scrub the stains, but get any debris that is stuck on it off.
  2. Let the grout dry completely.
  3. Using a stiff brush, apply the PolyBlend to the grout lines in small (2ftx2ft) sections.
  4. Allow each section to dry for 5-10 minutes.
  5. Wipe the extra PolyBlend off the tile with a slightly damp cloth. As an alternative, use the flat scraper, wrapped tightly in a slightly damp cloth, and wipe it across the tile. This should take the PolyBlend off the tile but will not go into the grout lines.
  6. Allow the PolyBlend to dry for 24 hours.
  7. Repeat instructions 3-5 for a second coat, if necessary.
Fix Old and Stained Grout

Thanks for sharing!

Susan Miller

Wednesday 7th of October 2020

I have the exact same floor arabesque tile. I have attempted to repaint the grout back to white year after year - and it doesn't hold up - what color did you use? Thx!!

Lauren

Thursday 8th of October 2020

Hi Susan! I'm sorry that your grout paint isn't holding up! I have used in on at least 4 different tile floors, and I have also found that it holds up on some better than others. I'm not sure if it has to do with whether the grout has a strong seal on it prior to application, perhaps making the grout paint adhere less, or whether it could depend on how deep the grout sits in the tile (grout that is deeper is less likely to rub off because it is touched less). I used Snow White on one of the arabesque tiles and *I think* Delorean Gray on the other. It was several years ago now, so I don't have a strong memory, but this name sounded familiar. A gray color will probably "hold up" better, mostly because you won't notice places where it comes off as much.

Alesha

Monday 17th of June 2019

Does the grout come in other colors? Like a bright blue or red?

Lauren

Monday 17th of June 2019

Hey Alesha!

It comes in 48 different colors, but none that appear particularly bright to me. You can check many of them out here!

Stephanie

Friday 15th of March 2019

Your floors look great! I've just replaced the caulking around my tub and now I want to paint the grout lines. I was wondering how the PolyBlend worked compared to other brands. That's nice to know it's still going strong after 3 years!

Lauren

Tuesday 18th of June 2019

Thanks Stephanie! I was really pleased with the PolyBlend. I hope it works out well for your in your bathroom!

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