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Peel and stick tile over existing vinyl

Dave Farquhar DIY May 11, 2017March 13, 2021Ammonia

You can put peel and stick tile over existing vinyl, but there are certainly right and wrong ways to do it. If the underlying vinyl isn’t in good condition, you won’t be very happy with the results. And if you don’t do any prep work, you won’t be very happy with the results.

I’ve seen this go well, and I’ve seen it go poorly. Here are the secrets that allow it to go well.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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Glue coming up between vinyl tiles

Dave Farquhar DIY March 23, 2017March 13, 2021Ammonia, clearcoat

If you have a problem with glue coming up between vinyl tiles when you lay them, I have a couple of solutions.

And you will want to solve the problem. The glue discolors the tile, and doesn’t get any better with age. It attracts unsightly dirt and then nothing about it looks good.

Dave Farquhar

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Remove paint from metal

Dave Farquhar DIY October 20, 2016September 1, 2017Ammonia

A lot of people know you can remove paint from metal with oven cleaner. What you may not know is that there’s a cheaper way that works just as well.

Dave Farquhar

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Restoring Marx 6-inch frames

Dave Farquhar Toy trains April 27, 2016August 30, 2017Ammonia, marx, Purple Power

Marx 6-inch cars in beat-up condition are cheap and easy to find, but you can dramatically improve their appearance by repainting their frames. If the body is scratched up it still won’t be a showroom car, but you can halve the number of scratches on it and it will look nicer. Here’s how you go about restoring Marx 6-inch frames.

Dave Farquhar

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How to repaint screen door/storm door handles

Dave Farquhar DIY, Landlording, Saving money April 15, 2015July 17, 2017Ammonia, cheap stuff, Dollar General

I have three storm door handles, much like the one to the right, that were a bit worse for wear. The painted black finish had worn off over time in places, creating an uneven finish of dull black and dull gray. Replacing them would make the house look a lot better in a subtle way, but there was nothing wrong with them–they worked fine, they just looked worn out.

So I repainted them instead of replacing them and saved myself $30.

Dave Farquhar

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Not quite a new floor in a bottle, but…

Dave Farquhar Landlording February 5, 2015September 10, 2017Ammonia, kitchens, Pledge Floor Care, Stain, vinegar

There are several acrylic floor finishes–sometimes mistakenly called wax–that promise they’re like a new floor in a bottle. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but if you have reasonable expectations, they definitely can make a floor look better and easier to clean. And depending on how you use them, they can even make the floor last longer.

Dave Farquhar

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Conquer a musty basement with ammonia

Dave Farquhar Saving money June 23, 2012September 13, 2016Ammonia

The most annoying thing about the house we just bought was the musty basement. I’m sure it’s a common problem in 65-year-old houses with basements that are anything less than bone dry, but that doesn’t make it any more pleasant.

Our painter had a suggestion. Fill a big bowl with ammonia and put it somewhere that nobody can knock it over accidentally. He said it would absorb that musty smell very effectively. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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