self-adhesive tile on paint?

Okay, I'm new here, so please excuse if this was discussed long ago! I'm in the middle of a headache of a (my first) flooring project. I'm in a new rental house, and the landlord REALLY doesn't care, so I just want to make it passable - I'm not picky and anything will be better that what was there before.

When I scraped/pulled up the old floor, there were 2 layers of vinyl tile, a sheet of linoleum, and a sheet of that paper-backed padding stuff beneath that. I've done everything I can, and can't get all the paper from the last layer off the boards. Which brings me to the next problem I encountered - the subfloor is boards rather than plywood sheets. The wood is sound, so that's not an issue - it's just the cracks. It's quite level, so I'm not worried there. I got some floor prep/levelling compound stuff to fill in the cracks and chipped areas of the boards. This seems to be working fine.

Now what I'm concerned about, is that I basically have THREE surfaces to stick the tile to (wood, levelling compound, and paper in the places I couldn't get it off) and I'm worried that the self-adhesive vinyl tile I have won't stick uniformly to all the surfaces. I have some extra wall paint from the room, just a regular mid-grade Wal-Mart brand, and I was thinking of putting down a layer of it first. Is this a good idea, or does it make sense to anyone else? I just want the tile to stick well everywhere, and not start coming up in places!

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Interior latex will not hold up to damp conditions for long. It will release and your tile will come up with it.

You might try a stain-killing primer, Kilz Oil base, or another oil base exterior primer. Even a polyurethane would be better than a latex under a sticky-tile floor. I certainly agree that the current surface could use something.

Good luck with it!

I just happened to remember that there is a sealer made just for this application. I've used it myself and it was great! It dried within an hour and the floor looked terrific 6 months after it was installed. Check back with the dealer who sold you the tile. They will know what will work.