White Spirit mopping on linoleum?

[Nanako]

I have linoleum in my kitchen, and in the process of repainting said kitchen, i have made quite a mess. Aside from many drips and splashes, i did also (twice) tip over a can of paint and spill a third of it. There is a LOT of paint on my kitchen floor, all thoroughly dried now.

I am almost done with the painting of the walls, i figured its best to leave the floor til last, and that time has almost come .So what now?

The plan that comes to my mind is getting a big bucket of mop water, pouring a few cups of white spirit into it, and mopping up the paint. But will this work ? And will it be safe for linoleum

 

[JohnD]

I have linoleum in my kitchen,

I bet you haven't.

I think you've got vinyl.

 

[Nanako]

I bet you haven't.

I think you've got vinyl.

to the touch, it has the feel of thin foam, and an upper surface somewhat like rubber

 

[JohnD]

Is it 50 years old?

 

[Nanako]

Is it 50 years old?

it is 0.5 years old!

 

[JohnD]

Not lino

If the paint is emulsion, you can soften it with meths. Mix it with washing up liquid or it will evaporate too fast. Alcohol based antibacterial hand gel should also work. Once softened, scrub off with hot water and detergent

If it is gloss paint you are probably doomed. Anything that shifts it will probably take the pattern off the vinyl. You should have cleaned it before it dried.

 

[Nanako]

Not lino

If the paint is emulsion, you can soften it with meths. Mix it with washing up liquid or it will evaporate too fast. Alcohol based antibacterial hand gel should also work. Once softened, scrub off with hot water and detergent

If it is gloss paint you are probably doomed. Anything that shifts it will probably take the pattern off the vinyl. You should have cleaned it before it dried.

the paint is a mixture of about five different kinds, spanning the gamut of possible paints. the biggest part of it, by far though, is this stuff

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B086QDQL81?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1

I spilled almost half of the entire can. An unfortunate incident where it got knocked over and i didnt notice for almost 15 seconds ;-;

How can i know if the floor is vinyl ? Here are some pictures i took, i found an edge of it in the tool closet that isnt fastened down so ive photographed it in ultra closeup from as many angles as i could. The flooring is a few mm thick, hard to judge or measure but definitely thinner than 1cm, probably 5mm or less

 

[JohnD]

It won't be lino

It will be vinyl

 

[Nanako]

It won't be lino

It will be vinyl

are you basing that on the pictures?

 

[foxhole]

Had you not thought to protect floor with a dust sheet?

Emulsion can be removed with soapy water and a sponge .
Oil based paints with water soluble paint brush cleaner .
Any harsh cleaning will ruin the floor.

 

[JohnD]

are you basing that on the pictures?

A lifetime of experience.

 

[Nanako]

A lifetime of experience.

But you are applying your experience to the assumption that this floor is vinyl, as far as i can tell that isnt true, its some sort of soft foam/fabric?

 

[foxhole]

Vinyl Cushion Flooring.​

 

[Nanako]

Not lino

If the paint is emulsion, you can soften it with meths. Mix it with washing up liquid or it will evaporate too fast. Alcohol based antibacterial hand gel should also work. Once softened, scrub off with hot water and detergent

If it is gloss paint you are probably doomed. Anything that shifts it will probably take the pattern off the vinyl. You should have cleaned it before it dried.

Well the time has come to actually do this cleaning, and since you weren't listening to me, i decided not to listen to you either. I'm glad i did!

I went ahead with experimentation on a test patch. White spirit does nothing to either the paint or the floor, ditto for acetone, and most normal cleaning chemicals. But i found something that DOES work! Plain old paint stripper from wickes.

This softens the top millimetre or so of paint, which easily sorts out all the glossy white parts. The glossy black does come off but much less, it will take several coats. But its getting all the paint off and causing no damage to the flooring, i've tested it overnight and the floor underneath is fine

Maybe this wouldn't have worked on a vinyl floor. And maybe my floor isnt vinyl, like i tried to tell you repeatedly, idk.
I feel that you really jumped the gun a lot here JohnD, and if i had followed your advice i would have been stuck with a permanantly stained floor, or a big bill for replacing it, when cleaning it is perfectly feasible!

 

[evdamadiynot]

Linoleum was made from linseed.