How to Paint the Back of Vinyl Floor Covering to Make a Rug

Cut your flooring down to the finished size you want, using a utility knife.

Place plastic sheeting on your work surface and unroll your vinyl floor. You may need to back-roll your flooring if it wants to curl. Back-roll is to roll in the reverse direction of the curl and then unroll again so that the vinyl lays flat. Position your flooring face up on your plastic sheeting.

Paint the face of your flooring with rubber rug backing. The face of the vinyl floor will actually be the bottom of your new rug, so you are painting the non-skid surface on first to help your new rug grip the floor. Most rug backings are latex, so you should use a different type of product if you are allergic to latex. It often takes several coats of rubber rug backing for best grip. Allow four to six hours drying time between coats.

Turn your vinyl floor face (rubber coating) down. Prime the entire surface of the back side of the vinyl with a good primer. Allow four hours to dry.

Lay out and tape (as necessary) your design over your primer. Use painter's tape for stripes or line-type designs.

Paint your design onto your vinyl. You can use as many colors as you like and any good-quality latex paint will work. Allow each coat to dry four hours. Once your design is complete, remove any excess tape and touch up any areas that require touch-up. Sometimes tape will disturb paint or leave uneven edges where paints overlap.

Apply a waterproof sealer. Make sure your primer, paint and sealer are all compatible. Most sealers take four to eight hours dry time between coats and dry completely within 24 hours.

Attach a carpet tape around the perimeter of your new rug to give it a finished look. Use a seam binding material used on fabric and a hot glue gun or a carpet-edge tape.