"charlie" wrote in message
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"Zootal" wrote in message
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I'm getting ready to install some tile in my kitchen. I'm using 3x8
tiles, and I'm doing them two high and about 30 feet long as a backsplach
on the wall around my kitchen counters. I have pretty much everything I
need, but there is one thing I'm not certain about. The wall is painted
sheetrock. Can I just glue the tile to the painted sheetrock? Do I need
to do anything to it other then clean it real good with TSP or the
equivalent?

IOW, how should I prepare the wall so I can glue the tiles to it?

if it were me, i'd make sure it was well deoiled (tsp) and perhaps sanded
a bit with an agressive grit sandpaper or sand screen to give it some
tooth, as your adhesive is only sticking to paint, not the sheetrock.

i'd also adhesvie rather than thinset.

The bottom layer is a glass tile, and I just noticed that the adhesive I
have says not to use on glass..phhhtt...back to the store again lol.

So clean real well, roughen a bit so it's not a smooth glossy finish, and
then we should be good to go. I wasn't sure if I needed to actually remove
the paint of not, or if I even could without destroying the sheetrock
finish, which is basically heavy paper.

I have some "adhesive & grout", not sure where it came from. I wasn't
planning on using it mainly because I don't know enough about it, and I
gather from those I've talked to that I'm better off using adhesive to set
the tile, and grout to grout it - not a one-size-fits-all adhesive/grout
product.