Restore Vinyl Flooring With Paint

If you're ready to give yourself a home makeover and have ugly 70's vinyl flooring you might think you need to replace the flooring to get the look you want. But you don't necessarily have to use up your bucks on replacement flooring. Consider using paint to give your floors a new look. It's not as difficult as it sounds. The hard work is doing your homework. But we've done it for you. Read this article for step by step instructions so you do the job right the first time. You'll get a floor that looks brand new!

*Preparation—start by cleaning and removing the sheen from the vinyl. You can do this by applying a solution with an ammonia base, or buy TSP (trisodium phosphate) and mix it with water. Either of these steps can prepare your flooring to accept an application of paint. Make sure you allow the floor to dry completely before you go on to the next step.

Prime Time

*Prime—it's crucial to prime the floor before you paint. Speak to your paint dealer and ask him to recommend a primer that comes premixed with sealer. Take a roller attached to a lengthy painting pole and use it to apply the primer to the entire floor area. Use a brush to cut in the edges. Let the primer become totally dry before going on to the next step.

*Choose Paint--there are a lot of suitable options. Take your time checking out the paint department looking at colors and asking questions. You can cover a vinyl floor with oil-based, urethane, porch, or garage paints.

*Start Painting—now you're ready to paint. Use the same technique as for priming: Cut in the edges near the baseboards to set your parameters. Follow the cutting-in by painting with a roller on the long pole. Start at the center and paint your way out to the edges. Apply up to 3 coats of paint, but let each coat dry thoroughly before adding a new coat.

Three Coats

*Seal—once you have the coverage you've aimed for, allow the floor to dry really well and then get ready to seal. Use your roller to apply a polyurethane sealer over the coats of paint. You want a really good seal so you won't have to redo the paint job for a long time. For that reason, you want to give the floor three coats of sealant.