Sunday, February 21, 2010

How to paint vinyl floors...

When we moved into our 1980's house 9 years ago, the vinyl floors were hideous and in terrible shape.

Apparently, the former ranch hand chopped kindling with a hatchet on the kitchen floor. (We found the kindling but not the hatchet.)

Since we don't own the house, we didn't want to spend the money to replace them. So, I decided to paint them. The project cost $80 and it took me 11 days to complete the kitchen, laundry room, entry and bathroom. As you will see in a minute, they turned out great.

I found a paint that worked on floors and on vinyl siding so I thought it would be a good choice for vinyl floors. (The paint was McCloskey's All-in-One and I can't find it anymore.) I was right. Nearly 9 years after painting them, they are still in decent shape. And, let me tell you, our floors are used and abused.

Here's what I did...

Step 1) I gave the floors a very thorough cleaning by first sweeping, then vacuuming, then scrubbing them clean on my hands and knees with warm water.

Step 2) I rolled on three coats of off-white, letting the coats dry in between.


Step 3) Because there was already a square pattern stamped into the old vinyl, this step was much easier than if I'd had to measure. I taped off the inside of every other square with blue painter's tape then painted each with two coats of taupe, letting the coats dry in between.


Step 4) I carefully removed the tape.

Step 5) I applied five coats of water-based, satin Minwax Polycrylic with a brush, letting the coats dry in between.

POST UPDATE: I don't think the paint I used on my floors is available anymore. However, I saw a show on HGTV where they painted a vinyl bathroom floor. They used a high-adhesion primer first, followed by floor paint. I think a really important step with my floor was the Minwax Polycrylic on top, however, the paint I used was a matte finish. If you used a glossy floor paint, maybe you wouldn't need the shiny top coat.

When the homeowner saw my painted floors, he gasped because he thought I was going to hand him a bill for new vinyl. He was happy to reimburse me the $80 I spent on the project.

Here's the bathroom floor, 9 years later. This is the lowest-traffic area of all the areas I painted. I would have posted the kitchen but it's covered in muddy paw prints because we took a walk in the melting snow.

We're going for another walk tomorrow and the snow will be melting for awhile so I see no reason to clean it any time soon.

Linked to Make it for Monday, Metamorphosis Monday, Make Your Monday,
Motivate Me Monday, Transformation Thursday
, Show and Share Day

17 comments:

  1. Wow! I'm impressed- those look great! Just visiting form the Texas Blogging Gals- some visit anytime!

    ~Becca

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  2. Hi, This is my first time at your blog. I came over via Brenda at Cozy Little House...I have a vinyl floor in my laundry room that also has squares in it and has seem bette days....I am going to give this a try, but I have to find a paint that works...off to Home Depot I go! Thanks for this great idea! I am going to paint mine red and white checks! Sandy

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  3. Goodness...amazing job. I so wish that paint was still around. I have a work room screaming for it!!

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  4. Wow, I never even knew it was possible to paint vinyl flooring! It looks amazing!

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  5. That is just awesome!! I love your blog. BTW, I can't keep hydrangeas alive and yet I love them so much. :( Have any tips on that?

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  6. I can't tell you how excited I was to see this. I had some friends over last week and took them up to the third floor where I am redoing the boys bedrooms. Next will be the bath. The floor is in decent shape but it is ugly. The problem is there is a huge cast iron footed tub in there. I don't want to replace it and the thought of moving it makes me tired. One of my friends suggested painting the floor. I had never heard of such a thing but I guess I am just out of the loop. Yours is fabulous. Want to come to Iowa and do mine? I didn't think so. I am definitely going to give this a try this spring and I will link back to you. Thanks for sharing. Pam

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  7. Wow! That looks great! I never thought to paint a floor. Thanks for the great idea!

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  8. Wow! I am so glad I found this! My kitchen floor is pretty shabby and I have been wondering for a while if you could paint vinyl floors and have it look decent. Your floors look great! Thanks for sharing! :)

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  9. Good for you for having the guts to go for it! I would be scared to death... even tho I paint for a living! Kudos to you! Stop by my blog sometime and say hello!

    Blessings, jennifer

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  10. Wow! That looks so great! Especially after NINE years! I never would have thought of that either. Thanks for the inspiration! Adding you to my blogroll!

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  11. I never knew this could be done. Yours looks amazing. I love the idea of this. To bad the paint doesn't exist now I would love to do it.

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  12. Oh, I love your painted vinyl flooring! It looks amazing, and I can't believe it's been nine years! You could have just painted them, it looks that good! I just painted our kitchen vinyl floor this past December, so I know it is a lot of work! :)

    You have a beautiful blog, and I just love the name of it, too! I will be back for a visit soon! :)

    Blessings,
    Jenni

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  13. I am not ready to do the work involved in replacing old vinyl. This gives me inspiration!

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  14. I wanted to do this where I use to live. I was too chicken!
    Looks great@!
    Following you over from Shabby Chic Cottage!
    I am a follower!
    Please stop by!
    http://extremepersonalmeasures.blogspot.com/

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  15. OMG! I don't own my home but I have been doing improvements that I can afford..I have been wanting to paint the vinyl floors in the kitchen but every one keeps telling me it can't be done! Now I am all motivated to find a paint that will work! Thank for sharing this!
    ~Bridgette {allthingzrealted}

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  16. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and knowledge on this topic. This is really helpful and informative, as this gave me more insight to create more ideas and solutions for my plan. I would love to see more updates from you.

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