How to Paint an Old Doormat

Learn how I gave my old, faded doormats a glow up using outdoor acrylic paint! My doormats are now bright and vibrant and adding extra color to our outdoor spaces. 

Hello Crafty Friends! Today I’m sharing a quick tutorial for how to paint old doormats. As we were doing spring cleanup this year, I noticed how faded and dingy our outdoor mats had become. They are a few years old and the color had really started to fade off. One mat was almost entirely black!

Other than loosing their color, the doormats themselves were in great shape. Instead of tossing or donating them, I decided to give them a glow up so we could keep using them.

To paint these doormats I turned to my favorite outdoor paint – DecoArt Patio Paint. This isn’t a sponsored post, I just really love Patio Paint. I have used it to paint my stepping stones as well as garden art made from wood and plastic.

One of the best parts of the Patio Paint is that it doesn’t require any primer or sealer. You can apply it to just about any clean surface and it should adhere. I followed the directions on the paint bottle and let is dry and cure for 72 hours before placing my painted items outside.

I’ve had really good luck with this paint. My painted stepping stones have been outside for over 5 years and they still have color. These painted doormats have been outside for a little over a month and they still look great! I’ll be sure to update this tutorial after a year to let you know how they are doing.

Both doormats I repainted were made from recycled rubber with a fibrous topping. I found the trick was to use a good amount of paint on my brush to let the paint soak in and coat all of the fibers. After two coats of paint, I had very bright, and vivid colors. 

How to Paint a Faded Doormat

Supplies Needed:

• Old doormat (I painted an old doormat made from recycled rubber similar to this floral half-circle mat that I purchased from Target. 
• Outdoor Acrylic Paint – I used DecoArt Patio Paint. I purchased an 18-pack set on Amazon which is temporarily unavailable. They also sell an 8-pack or you can buy individual bottles at your local craft store like Michaels.
• Paint brushes

Painting the Doormat

Step One: Wash the doormat with water and let it dry completely.

I used the jet setting on my outdoor hose to wash away and dirt and debris, especially the stuff caught in the recessed areas of the design. 

Step Two: Once the mat is completely dry, it’s time to paint it!

The trick here is to use a decent amount of paint on your brush so that it can soak into the bristles. I dabbed my brush in a small area until it became saturated before moving on to the next area. 

Be patient and do small areas at a time. If you just brush your paint over the top surface of the mat, the paint will not cover all of the bristles and it will look splotchy.

I found there was a big difference in how the paint adhered to the areas where the bristles were completely gone versus the areas where they were still there. I found it easier to paint the areas with just rubber and more time consuming to paint the areas still with bristles.

There will also be a slight change in color difference between the painted areas. You can see this clearly on my rectangular mat in the “welcome” section. The orange color appears darker in areas where the bristles were still on the mat.

For my welcome mat, I chose to split up the floral design into four equal sections and used four colors to paint it; purple, navy, teal and green. I initially did this to conserve paint and not use too much of one color, but I actually really like the way it turned out. 

If you would like to do something similar, use a ruler to first divide your mat into fourths. Mark these sections with a dot of paint or a white colored pencil on the edges to give you a guideline to follow.

Step Three: Give the doormat a second coat of paint.

This could be optional if you prefer more subtle color. If you really want bold, saturated colors, go ahead and give the mat a second coat of paint. It will go on easier this time and won’t take as long. 

I also decided to add a bit of depth to my pink flower petals by adding a darker pink on the edges of each flower petal. 

Step Four: Let the doormats dry and cure following the directions for the paint used.

For my Patio Paint, I needed to leave the mats inside for 72 hours. Afterwards I put them outside and after one month they still look amazing. 

Below you can see my finished mats!

Below is the finished half-circle doormat painted with a variety of colors. I went into painting both doormats without a clear plan of what colors to use, I just went with it. I’m not sure I love the red color as it really stands out, but overall I’m happy with how it turned out. Again – it is loads better than the before! 

I hope this tutorial is helpful if you are thinking about painting your doormats. While I’m sure different types of doormats will react differently to the paint, the Patio Paint worked really well on my rubber doormats and did not require any sealing and priming.