Best option for quarry tile window sills - restore or paint? Advice and information on tiling and fixing tiles to a variety of surfaces

[welwed]

Hi all tilers!

I wonder what you would do in this situation. Some of our quarry window sills have been painted and tiled over. I tried to get them clean but it was hard to get off all the paint and not to scratch them. As it is now they look really scruffy and dirty. Attached is a picture of the worst one. Would it be successful to paint them? ..or do you have advice on how to get them clean and perhaps treated? Could they be sanded down or would that ruin them? Thank you very much!

[welsh brickie]

A brick acid wash can clean them, then when dry, varnish them

[welwed]

Thank you Welsh Brickie! What kind of varnish do you mean?

[tileclipproman]

You need the hardest wearing varnish you can get.Ronseal do a hard diamond
floor varnish.
Nitromor is a paint remover for oil based paints,you need to have a chat with
your hard warestore about water based paint removal.
I would rake out the grout lines once you have finished cleaning and regrout.
If you dont mind a bit of maintenance once or twice a year you could use boiled
linseed oil for your finnish,just dont put too much on apply with a soft cloth and leave to dry.