How can we paint our vinyl kitchen floor?

Roberta T
by Roberta T
We have a tiny little "Galley" style kitchen with a horrible scuffed up vinyl floor that it shares with our pantry/laundry room. No matter how clean it is - it always looks dirty. Like most kitchens, it gets a lot of foot traffic. We're planning on painting the cabinets first. Mostly, we're worried about how durable a painted vinyl floor will be. What is the best: way to prep the floor, which primer, type of paint and finish? Any help is greatly appreciated.
  7 answers
  • If the floor is really small, you would be better off putting down a click and lock floor system. For around three dollars a square foot, you will end up with a much nicer job without all the extra prep work needed to ready the vinyl to accept the paint, plus the paint cost and the risk that the paint will eventually scratch if your not careful.
  • Custom Interiors Custom Interiors on Jun 07, 2012
    I used to sale flooring at an orange box store which I will fail to mention here. I could have sold the vinyl floating floor by Trafficmaster all day long. Lays over everything but carpet almost and has many different wood hues as well as tile replicas. Check it out. It is called Allure.
  • Traci W Traci W on Jun 07, 2012
    I painted my kitchen and breakfast room floor about 2 years ago and its still holding up. I'm surprised it still has with 2 kids and a dog and cat and hubby in work boots. I wish I hadn't varnished it or found something else to seal, b/c where I overlapped my strokes, it is a bit darker, you can't really tell now with time but it bothered me at first. It was stinky and alot of work. We just bought some of that Allure to put in our downstairs bath and it does have some great colors. I'm hoping it looks good. The bad thing about painting is its all the same color and even though mine is a medium blue it shows everything too and looks dirty if I don't clean all the time. :(
  • Roberta T Roberta T on Jun 07, 2012
    Thanks for all of the answers and advice. I will calculate the cost and work prior to getting started .I'm in the investigation phase of it still.
  • Peace Painting Co., Inc. Peace Painting Co., Inc. on Jun 08, 2012
    Roberta, it will paint fine. Clean and rinse it well then prime it with Zinzer 123. At that point you are ready to paint it with a high quality latex 'Porch and Floor' paint from a reputable paint store. Best, Charles
  • Teresa A Teresa A on Jun 09, 2012
    I have also painted an out of date vinyl floor. I scrubbed the floor with TSP and rinsed it well with vinegar water to remove any soap/grease residue. I had used KRYLON Rust Tough Paint and rolled it on the floor. I don't believe the Rust Tough Paint is available now. After 6 years it still looked great. I'd investigate the epoxy paints available. Best of luck! T