Making a Copper Backsplash; Refinishing a Copper Backsplash

A. Hi Patricia. It sounds like you want to paint it some color rather than refinishing it as copper. Self-etching primer [on eBay or Amazon] should stick as the first coat; then whatever paint you like. Good luck.

Regards,

A. Hello, Sharon.

You could get the sheet in plain, rather than hammered -- then in letter 34185, the readers tell you how to hammer the pattern yourself. They suggest that it is relatively easy, and better than settling for someone's else's hammer pattern anyway. I haven't tried it myself, and can't predict how good a job you could do.

Good luck!

A. Hi Roberta. Brass lacquers are available from specialists like G.J. Nikolas [a finishing.com supporting advertiser]. If you just need a spray can or two, it's available on line from Amazon.

Regards,

A. Hi Nancy. I put up two-foot square metal tiles as a backsplash in my kitchen. However, I used powder coated steel rather than copper sheet. Liquid Nails worked. Lacquer is designed specifically for copper and brass products, and may prove more satisfactory than polyurethane (plus it's easily removable). Good luck.

A. Check on the tiles to see if there are any marks identifying the manufacturer. If not you can make clay castings of the tiles and use a copper glaze.

A. Check out www.azhotdots.com for metal tiles.

A. Try "Manhattan Interior Designs".

A. Hi, Shirl. I used 2' x 2' tiles, so they all rested on the counter top, and the limited stickiness of the uncured Liquid Nails was enough to hold them in that case. But I understand the problem with smaller tiles. My kitchen project was 3 years ago so the memory isn't fresh, but I think it's supposed to be at least a little tacky before you put the tile on the wall.

There are adhesives like contact cement that will hold, but they have the disadvantage of grabbing permanently, almost instantly. I can't say what's best because of such limited experience, but the tile manufacturer may have a suggestion. Good luck.

Regards,

A. Nancy. I have experience with copper backsplash using both a thin 36 gauge copper and a standard 16 oz. (24 gauge) copper. With the thin copper, we use 1/4" MDF for the substrate and contact cement to adhere the copper to it. Then we adhere the MDF to the wall using construction adhesive. It works great. We even make trim pieces wrapped with the copper. The heavier 24 gauge copper can be cut with hand shears and adhered directly to the wall with construction adhesive. You can cut the wall outlets with a Dremel [on eBay or Amazon] or RotoZip [affil links]. We always use lacquer for a good protection and usually spray a few coats.

John,
Usually I get people contacting me for something to remove tarnish from their brass bed (there are a few old threads here on finishing.com about it, like letter 13396), but this is the first one I've seen for kitchen tile. However, the same approach ought to work. Obviously the remaining lacquer has to come off, then the oxidation can be addressed using a citric acid based product. Finally, you will probably want to apply a new lacquer coating.

Q. Thanks for your response, Ray. Glad to know citric acid can remove the oxidation. I'm not sure about the best lacquer remover, though I expect a "natural" paint remover [on eBay or Amazon] would do the trick. I was hoping to get some ideas on working with those liquids on a vertical surface, which could get pretty messy if too runny. And I was hoping for a suggestion on a more durable replacement finish.