MARY MINTZ, Rockport

A. If you can get it, apply two coats of any oil-based floor paint. If it is real linoleum, which is made essentially of linseed oil and paper or canvas, plus colorizers and fillers, the paint will do quite well. Don't paint a vinyl floor.

Q. I thought I'd paint the linoleum in my kitchen. I put down Kilz and a floor paint, but it is not holding; in fact, it scrapes right off with my feet. What went wrong?

S.M., Quincy, Mass.

A. If the linoleum is sheet vinyl, no paint will stick to it easily, although other vinyl materials such as shutters and even siding can be painted, but only after heavy sanding and cleaning, and with latex paint. I think your paint job, if it is on vinyl, is doomed to continued failure.

If the linoleum is true Linoleum (a brand name), it is made of linseed oil on a felt base and is quite paintable. My mother painted her Linoleum kitchen floor a number of times, with pretty fair results.

Q. How can I clean my light-colored and embossed Solarian linoleum? I scrub and scrub without success; dirt stays in those little embossed fissures.

J.B., Norwood

A. The light color and the little fissures combine to drive everyone bananas. The dirt simply shows more. And superficial scrubbing will not get the dirt out of those fissures.

So, here is what to do. I know it works because a Globe colleague had the same trouble and I told him what to do and it worked, much to his amazement.

Make a strong solution of Spic and Span and water, not quite double the recipe but almost. Mop the floor, putting plenty of this solution on, and let it sit there for five minutes. This soaking will loosen the dirt and dissolve it. When most of us scrub floors, we don't let the detergent do its work. Then scrub, mop up the excess solution and presto (I hope!), clean Solarian.

Q. I would like to take off the linoleum that someone put over perfectly good ceramic tile in my bathroom. But how can I get the linoleum off and the glue under it?

ELLEN COUGHLAN, Lynn

A. All possible, but your remark about someone putting linoleum over ``perfectly good'' ceramic tile simply reinforces my amazement at what people do. There is just no telling.

You can remove the linoleum (or vinyl) by brute force; use an ice cutter with a long handle so you can put your back into it. Or, rent a power scraper that vibrates as you push it; it may make it easier. Putting heat on the covering will help, too; use a hair dryer, not a hot air gun; the latter is too hot and a hazard indoors.

Once the covering is off, the fun starts. To remove the adhesive, heat may soften it so it can be scraped off. Or, use a chemical paint remover and scrape. Use Safe Strip or other stripper that does not contain methylene chloride. Another good one to use is Citristrip, a citrus-based remover that works well and is safer to use. Provide plenty of ventilation. With the remover, you can scrape off most of the adhesive, but you will probably finish up by applying more stripper and scrubbing the stuff off with coarse steel wool. With luck, this treatment will not hurt or affect the tile.

Q. After I put down a wood-look linoleum over the concrete floor of my slab house, some of the linoleum became unglued and curled at the seams and edges. The curled areas are quite rigid, so I am reluctant to try to press them down again because they could break. Is there anything I can do?

E.G., Needham

A. Good point; pressed down, those curls could break. And one problem is that sheet linoleum and vinyl does not work very well over a concrete slab because water vapor is always coming up through the concrete and can push the linoleum right off. That is why it is recommended to put down wall-to-wall indoor-outdoor carpeting instead of a resilient tile or anything else, because such carpeting allows water vapor to go right through it.

But there is some hope for the linoleum. Use heat -- a hair dryer will do because a commercial hot air gun is too hot for this purpose and should not be used indoors anyway, because of the high risk of fire. Use the heat to soften the linoleum so it can be flattened out without cracking. Apply adhesive -- an adhesive caulk or tile cement will do -- under the curls first, then press the curl back into place. Along edges, nail a quarter-round molding to the baseboard to hold it there.

The seams are another matter: Apply adhesive under the curl, first scraping up as much old adhesive as practicable, then apply heat to soften the linoleum and press into place. Cover the seam with waxed paper and a piece of plywood. Put weight on the plywood to hold the linoluem down overnight while the adhesive sets. With luck that will last a while longer. The waxed paper is to prevent the plywood from sticking to the adhesive oozing through the seam in the linoleum.

Q. The kitchen linoleum in some rental property I own has worn out. What has the greatest longevity: sheet vinyl or linoleum tile? Or something else? I also have to have the brick house repointed, at a cost of $5,000-$15,000. That is not too bad, because I know it is a lot of work; but how can I get a good mason?

B.Q., Andover

A. For longevity (virtually forever), use glazed ceramic tile. Things will break when dropped on it, but the tile can be cleaned by a swish with a wet cloth. Sheet vinyl generally is more durable than vinyl tiles. Getting a good mason is a matter of luck. Check the Yellow Pages, then find out from the Better Business Bureau if any complaints have been filed against the mason you may hire. If you know anyone who has hired a mason, ask him how he likes the job. And so on.

Q. My resilient linoleum floors are 30 years old and in good shape, but one area is dull where I spilled rubbing alcohol. How can I get it shiny again?

RICHARD PHILLIPS, Westwood

A. Try buffing the dull area vigorously with a dry cloth. If that doesn't work, you can use Future on the entire floor; it will restore shine and needs repeating every six months or so. Try the Future in an obscure corner first to make sure you like the way it looks. Future is sold in supermarkets and hardware stores.

Q. The linoleum on the deck of a boat cabin looks like wood and is still in pretty good shape, but the shine is gone. How can I get it to shine again?

REBECCA SCHULTES, Wilmington

A. Some linoleum are so old that not only have they lost their shine but will not take a shine under any treatment. But it won't hurt to try applying a coat of Future, and acrylic finish. If it works, fine. If it doesn't, I don't think anything will.

Call in your questions on 617-929-2930. Globe Handyman on Call Peter Hotton is available on Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. to answer telephone questions on house repair. Hotton will chat on line about house matters Thursdays, 1-2 p.m. To participate, point your Internet browser to http://www.boston.com and use keyword: chat.

Q. My kitchen linoleum is 30 years old and is in good shape, except that a small section is missing, about half an inch, near a metal edging. What can I fill that section with?

VERA GROPPER, Somerville

A. If you have a spare piece of the linoleum (actually it is sheet vinyl), you can cut a piece to fit and glue it in with an adhesive caulk. If the linoleum normally goes under a flange on the metal, make sure the patch piece does, too. If it doesn't, and just butts up against the edging, make sure it is well glued down because that's probably where the break occurred when someone tripped on the uneven surfaces.

If the metal edging is in a doorway, you may not even have to put in the patch if you cover the opening and the edging with an oak threshold.

In last Sunday's column, the handyman had a great answer, but alas, there was no question. So today we are listing the question and repeating the answer, in full.

Q. Someone put a dark green linoleum over white octagonal ceramic tiles, and now some of the linoleum is missing. My husband suggested pulling up the linoleum and exposing the tiles. Would this work?

M., Dorchester

A. It certainly would work; your husband has the right idea; putting linoleum or vinyl over perfectly good ceramic tiles is a travesty. You can scrape off the old linoleum and use chemical paint remover to take off the remaining adhesive. The ceramic tiles should come out looking just great, although the grout might need some work. It is still worth doing.

Q. The linoleum (sheet vinyl) in the kitchen of my new house goes to about 1/4 inch from the baseboard, and glue is oozing out of it, looking pretty ugly. What can I do about it?

JIM FOGARTY, Chelmsford

A. The gap was left there to allow the linoleum to expand and contract, which is good. The fact that it was not covered is bad. A shoe mold or quarter-round molding is designed to cover that gap and anything oozing out. You can have the contractor put in a shoe mold, a strip of oak 3/8-inch wide and 3/4-inch high, or do it yourself. A shoe mold will look good, can be varnished (it will help set off the baseboard), and will cover the gap.