Retro Renovation

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Vintage Veos steel tiles with porcelain ceramic finish

Kate - Updated: June 23, 2021

Retro Renovation stopped publishing in 2021; these stories remain for historical information, as potential continued resources, and for archival purposes.

Veos steel wall tileWe’ve written extensively about 1950s bathroom tile — ceramic tile, plastic tile, and even Sani Onyx, glass-like tile made from fused rock. But here’s a vintage variety in our spotlight for the first time: Porcelain-enameled steel wall tiles. Yes, every now and then we see steel tiles — but this is a particularly big stash, plus, we have marketing materials to illustrate.

vintage ceramic tile

These Veos tiles for sale on ebay were found in their original boxes. Veos Tile was made in Rehoboth, Massachussets.

vintage Veos Tile brochureI tried searching for more information about Veos tile, and I was also able to find this vintage Veos Tile brochure that I spotted on Amazon. Looks like Veos was owned by Clyde Porcelain Steel Corp. of Clyde, Ohio.

vintage Veos Tile brochureThe vintage brochure — likely from the 1940s — shows several installations of Veos porcelain enamel steel tile and touts the tile’s strength, durability and light weight:

Weighs only 3.5 lbs. per square foot installed as against 16 to 18 lbs. for clay-bodied tile.

vintage Veos Tile brochureIt also includes a list of colors — though grey is not one of them — and touts:

“No Extra Charge for Color — In all sizes and shapes, Veos colored tile is price the same as black or white.”

vintage Veos Tile brochureTiles made of steel? Why not? We had 70 plus brands of factory-painted steel kitchen cabinets. AND we had Lustrons!

vintage ceramic tile vintage ceramic tileThe tiles look pretty darn nice!

Mega thanks to ebay seller thebombshelter1 and Amazon seller The Jumping Frog for allowing us to feature their photos in our happily ever after archives.

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43 comments

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  1. Alica says

    Finally! I’ve discovered what kind of tiles are installed in our farm house bathroom. We’re doing a bathroom renovation…ourselves if possible…and I’m wondering if these tiles can be painted? It’s not a heavily used bathroom, so the possibility of chipping paint, although real, is not of a huge concern to us. Thanks for any advice you may have!

      • Mary Elizabeth says

        One of the comments on this subject was from someone wishing to REMOVE several layers of paint from the metal tiles. It’s my opinion that almost anything in a house can be painted (with the exceptions of plants, pets and other living things). If you can paint metal furniture, why not metal tile? Check with your paint store professional for the best type of primer to use.

  2. Pete says

    Thank you for taking the time to put this information on your website.

    I am involved in repairing the wall in the shower area and it has these tile. These install entirely different than ceramic tile. You have to use a special backer board that is pre-grooved for the tile to recess in. I have been looking all over the internet for information about this kind of tile.

    Thanks again.

  3. Deb Bradley says

    I just discovered some of these tiles in the kitchen and bathroom of I house I just bought. They have been painted several times. Any ideas how to best remove the paint?

  4. Rachel W8 says

    I have a 1930’s house full of retro features. My kitchen walls are covered in light blue steel tile and the ceiling is white steel tile. I am trying to spruce it up. The tiles is in good shape but the grout in between is really old and cracked. Any suggestions on the best way to repair? Someone suggested removing the old grout and re-grouting. Someone else suggested caulking over the grout. Anyone else with experience in restoring this retro tile?

  5. Michelle says

    Thanks to both of you. They are in very good condition and were just used on the walls beside and behind the toilet.
    Standard tile was used in the stand alone shower.
    This site has certainly helped me with my slow remodeling.

    • Mary Elizabeth says

      Michelle, I think you may discover that the ceramic tile in the shower (or maybe the shower itself) was the result of a partial bath remodel. The original owners sometimes had problems with the plastic tile in the shower area, since steam will loosen them as the old adhesive dries, so they would have the shower retiled by a tile mason with ceramic tile.

  6. Michelle says

    I have plastic tile in my bathrooms. Can anyone tell me about them?
    My home was built in 1962. I’m debating whether to keep them or take out.

    • Mary Elizabeth says

      Michelle,
      Search through the discussion here on this article for discussion of plastic tiles. Also, see “Mary Elizabeth’s Pink Bathroom,” where my plastic tiles are featured.

      There were several manufacturers of plastic tile. Mine are Homart, the Sears brand from the 1950s and 1960s. I was planning to rip them out, but decided to keep them, as I had some replacements for the ones that were broken.

      If you like the color of the tiles, and they are in good condition but need cleaning, you can clean them with a mild cleaning solution. Don’t use bleach, amonia, Windex or harsh bathroom cleansers, which may dull or scratch them. Use an organic spray cleaner. I got several years of cigar and cigarette smoke off my tiles that way.

      Loose tiles can be glued back in place using plumbers’ caulk or construction adhesive. If a tile comes off, especially in the shower area, check for mold or mildew underneath. If it is present, as Pam always says, get a professional consultation.

  7. lee says

    I currently live in a 1930s house that has enamel on steel tile floor to ceiling in the bathroom.
    Pete Menios comment explains the backer board exactly.
    A poor “repair” around the tub faucets, and bad caulk job were letting water in and the fiberous backer was disintegrating.
    My solution was to put up a tub surround. But I am going to try the spray on tub refinish product for the rest as it won’t get the water contack like the shower. I won’t mind the refi fish being bright white… It will be much better than the PINK floor to ceiling tile currently glaring at me…
    I have salvaged tiles I am going to try to sell, somewhere.

  9. Steve-Dog says

    I’m restoring my 1930’s bathroom and I need to find a source for the old 5×5 plain aluminum wall tiles. They have a slight rolled edge to simulate the rolled edge of ceramic tile. I need 24 tiles in pink but would be delighted to find these tiles in any color and I’ll paint them to match the existing pint tiles. Thanks, and love your website – a real inspiration for our renovation projects!
    Steve-Dog

    • pam kueber says

      ebay, that’s the only place i can guess you will ever come across these. 5″ ????

  10. Pete Menio says

    I renovated a bathroom with this type tile about 3 years ago. The tiles were applied to a black fibrous underlayment similar to the old exterior house sheathing. To compensate for the concave backs of the tiles, the underlayment was grooved to accept the tiles. This construction allowed the tiles to lay in the grooves with the backs contacting the underlayment. It appeared that a standard mastic was used. They are really nice tiles with a very mellow pastel color. I was able to salvage about 450 green and yellow tiles including probably 20’ of bull nose.
    Hope this helps.