Small Scale Military Headquarters

...Yet.

For a project I'm working on I found tiles that happen to be just about the right size for me to use. They are 13"x13" floor tiles in a brown color that should work just fine. The only thing wrong with them is, like most tile, they have somewhat of a semi-gloss finish. For my purposes dull and slightly rough (like cement) would be better. They're not expensive, so I bought a few and thought I'd see what I could do to destroy the finish on them.

Not much as it turns out. These things are suprisingly resilient. I figured they would be fairly scuff resistant, they are floor tile after all, but they go at least a step beyond.

So far my primary weapon has been a power sander with 80 grit "black zirconium" paper. I also have some 100 grit aluminium oxide paper. Neither seems to affect the tiles in the slightest. Wait. That's not true, the tile is affected, but not in a way I'm looking for. The sanding seems to be polishing the tile more than anything. I can feel that the surface is smoother, but it has a sheen now that the others don't have. Acetone also doesn't seem to change anything.

I"m going to keep trying various ideas, but just in case anyone here was thinking along these lines (the I"ll just sand the tile down lines), I wanted to add my experience(s). I'll let you all know how it works out in the end.

MV

Just get a can of dullcoat spray, its just a clear matte finish that you can spary on anything like paint. lol

Well if you are getting the tile to look like ground you can get tile grout in brown or sand color and smear it on the tile.

You need to use a latex additive in the grout mix to make it stick better.

You also need to let it sit for about 3 days so that it sets good and hard.

You can also make makes in the soft grout for more effect.

Track marks bumps rocks and the like.

If you sand too much you will cut through the finish layer and go into the base coat glazing. Then you will have even more problems.

Thanks for the tips. I think I'm going to end up doing somewhat of a combo of both. I'm looking for a cement type look for the final product, so I'm thinking of using a dullcote along with some fine dust/sand. I'll practice next week on some white foam core and see how I like it.

MV