How to Upgrade Vinyl Flooring with Paint and a Stencil
Instead of replacing your old vinyl flooring, you can give it a new look with an inexpensive weekend DIY makeover. Learn how to upgrade vinyl flooring with paint and a stencil in this DIY Network video:
The project breakdown is as follows:
- Cleaning: 1 hour
- Priming: 6 hours
- Painting: 2 hours
- Stenciling: 6 hours
- Clear Coat: 4 hours
1. Cleaning: Vacuum and scrub floor vigorously with degreaser. Lightly sand with an orbital sander with medium-grit sandpaper to remove some of the glossy finish. Clean the floor one more time.
2. Priming: Tape off the trim and the cabinets to prevent paint getting anywhere it should not be. Bonding primer is ideal as it strongly sticks to any surface and does not scratch off. Apply bonding primer with a low nap roller to minimize air bubbles. Add thin coats, working in small sections. This primer dries quickly and will glop up if it’s allowed to sit in the paint tray too long, so stir and pour only what you can work with quickly. Two thin coats of primer are best for this project. Make sure to allow enough drying time (about 3-4 hours) between coats.
3. Painting: After the primer has dried, add some porch and floor paint. Apply two coats, allowing sufficient drying time between coats.
4. Stenciling: Get at least 2 or 3 stencils to make this task go faster (having extras allows for one to dry while painting another and also allows you to adapt the pattern to account for odd corners or edges). Tape down the stencil securely with painter’s tape. Using a roller, go over the pattern lightly, rolling back and forth in one direction (not adding too much paint allows the stenciled portions to dry quickly so the next one can go beside it right away). Repeat the process over and over again. If you make any mistakes, they can be easily painted over.
5. Clear Coat: Once the entire floor is stenciled and dry, add two thin coats of polyurethane, allowing them to dry in between.
Allow 24 hours after final coat before walking on the floor.
