Gluing tiles - this is how you apply tile foil / tile stickers

• Glue tiles
• Remove the sticker

Old tiles are boring. Monotonous, monochrome tiles that you see the fashionable derailments of the 1980s, nobody wants to have in the kitchen or in the bathroom. Tiling a whole room but does a lot of work, dirt and financial costs. Tile film, on the other hand, can be easily applied to the tiles or tiles and even removed without leaving any residue.

Tile film and tile stickers are a great way to shine old or ailing tiles and tiles without much effort in new splendor. If you do not want to replace tiles, you can simply stick them. The films are generally easy to handle and do not look like stickers when used properly. The tiles and tiles get with the sticker a deceptively real look, just like new. In addition, if the joints are brightened and cleaned, this benefits the overall impression.

The manufacturers advertise that the tile film is not only easy to handle, but basically very durable. Many products are suitable for outdoor use as well as for interiors and can be wet or dry glued. And also, when it comes to tiling tiles: The foils and stickers are just as suitable for tiles and all smooth stones. The adhesive contained on the films does not unfold its full effect immediately, but only after some time. And it can be removed at any time without leaving any residue. That is not completely unimportant, if you live in a rented apartment and have to remove the slides when moving out again.

Self-adhesive foils and stickers in tile look may replace the craftsman. They are easy to apply (and remove if necessary). And they really do go anywhere, because they're available in all conceivable designs:

• matt or shiny
• with monochrome surface
• in mosaic look
• marbled
• with motif print

Tip: Do not just take care of the tiles, but also the joints. If they are neatly scrubbed to make them look bright again, and maybe even treated with joint white, the result looks even better.

Slides have evolved rapidly over the past few decades. They have become thinner and more durable, are now made from very different plastics and can do a great deal. Vehicles are no longer painted, but instead stuck with durable films. This applies to taxis as well as police cars and company cars with company imprint. The films keep out sun and wind, rain can not harm them, and even the car wash survive unscathed. What the films on the car afford, they can also in the home. For example, in the bathroom, as a new surface of the tiles in the shower. The stickers are not only waterproof and weather resistant, but also keep out contact with detergents and endure mechanical stimuli.

The stickers are available in different standardized sizes, on request, but some manufacturers also offer individual blanks. Note that for floor tiles, you will need stickers that will really withstand the mechanical stimuli on the floor (on which you are running). There are foils that are only suitable for walls. Also important to know: Colorful tiles in bright colors may not be able to be pasted over because the colors show through the slightly transparent adhesive films. Above all tiles, which are provided with a slight relief, can not be adhered well. Because the relief is always visible through the thin foil.

Glue tiles

The ordering process is quite simple: you decide on the type of sticker (matt or glossy, mosaic, motif or marbled) and indicate your wishes. Then calculate how many adhesive films you need and state the number and size. The rest is done by the manufacturer. Since the films are accurately cut to a fraction of a millimeter by machine, special requests are usually not a problem, but at most with an additional cost. And this is how you proceed if you want your tiles or tiles to shine in new splendor with adhesive films.

1. Hold the slides where you want them to stick. For this, the backing paper is still attached to the film, you can attach the sticker if necessary with a little Tesafilm on the wall. See if the tile film really works as you imagine it before you put the tiles on it. You can try different places before you start working.

2. The tiles, tiles or stone surfaces should be cleaned carefully. Water and a simple cleaning agent are an absolute must. In order for the films to stick well, the surfaces must be free of grease in any case. After the first cleaning, cleaning with alcohol is really recommended. Coarse impurities should be removed with a brush. Gloves are advisable because good floor cleaners attack the skin and remove its fat.

3. The joints between the plates must also be thoroughly cleaned. Although there are no adhesive films applied, but the stickers do not work between dark, gray and possibly become black under water joints. Special products such as joint white provide additional optical purity. Also in this work gloves are recommended. By the way, joints can be cleaned well with an old, discarded toothbrush, special tools are not necessary.

4. If tiles and joints are dry and stain-free, the foils can be applied. First, the stickers are peeled off the carrier film. This works well if you hold a corner and gently pull over the edge to the next corner, until only half and then the entire sticker is detached from the carrier film. When kept in the air, the adhesive surface must not come into contact with itself, otherwise the sticker would not be usable! This somewhat fiddly job is better done without gloves, because it really needs a lot of sensitivity.

5. The back side, so the adhesive side of the tile sticker, should now be moistened. A simple water atomizer from the Floristikfachbedarf is quite well suited. Moist the films stick better than dry. Alternatively, you can spray the tile to be stuck with a mixture of water and detergent. Some people find this easier than evenly spraying the film, and the effect is the same.

6. Now carefully align the top edge of the film with the top of the tile to be pasted. Press the edge of the sticker lightly.

7. Using the squeegee, carefully stroke the air between the sticker and the tiles. Ideally, you should go from top to bottom and out from the middle of the tile. There should be no air bubbles between the film and the tile, and the water should also be mostly squeezed out. If you did not create the sticker correctly, you can now carefully correct it.

8. When the first tile is done, the next one can be made. Steps 4 to 7 are repeated until all tiles are pasted.

As an alternative to pre-cut (and usually more expensive) adhesive films, tiles can be covered with all films that are suitable for glass, ceramics, tiles and smooth surfaces. As long as the films specifically tolerate water, they are even suitable for the kitchen and bathroom.

Even cropping is no problem at all: large-format films are usually delivered on backing paper with a small box pattern on the back. Now, when measuring the size of each tile, the boxes may help in transferring the required blanks to the film (or backing paper, respectively). A sharp cutter is enough to cut the foil and paper underneath. However, a thick board should be placed in order to protect the soil and to keep the cutter sharp. These self-cut foils can then be applied just like the already purchased blanks already purchased by the dealer. In concrete terms this means: Steps 4 to 8 of the above instructions are sufficient.

Remove the sticker

If one of the adhesive films is to be removed again, for example because it has not been glued exactly, the film can be removed relatively easily immediately after bonding. Foils that have been on the tiles for some time can not be easily removed. In this case, special solvents are required, which lead the manufacturers of the adhesive films. Also, when removing and removing old stickers go back step by step:

1. Brush the stickers with the solvent. This should happen carefully so that the film is really completely covered with the agent. A fine brush brush from the craft shop is sufficient. Gloves are recommended because the solvents do not feel good to the skin.

2. Allow to act. It has been proven to observe the manufacturer's instructions regarding the exposure time.

3. Remove the foils. This should be easy, because the solvent penetrates the plastic stickers and dissolves the adhesive on the back. Consequently, sticker and adhesive should peel off without residue.

If the manufacturer of the adhesive films does not offer a separate solvent for the stickers, a hot-air blower can be helpful. To remove the film, a corner of the film is heated with the hair dryer, so that it can easily be detached from the tile or tile. The corner is grabbed and pulled upwards, so that the whole film can be solved. If there are residues left on the tiles, for example from some glue, they can easily be removed with alcohol after work. When working with alcohol you should always wear gloves to protect your skin.