How to Paint a Floor

Believe or not you can have a great floor surface by painting. When you think of all the colors and designs that are possible on walls why not try them on a floor: faux finishes, borders, etc.

Before you paint the floor decide on your color and design scheme. Then prepare the floor like you would any painting job. The floor should be dry and dent-free. Use a wood filler or floor leveler but not a caulking as it is too soft. Then sand the floor until is it smooth.

Wood, like plywood or oriented strand board, should be primed with a special sealer that hides wood grains and imperfections. this is usually a think, pasty-type material that is self-levelling but check with the instruction to see if it works on the material you will be covering. Concrete floors will probably need a concrete primer but make sure the floor is dvoid of peaks and voids beforehand otherwise the floor will look bumpy. If you are going to use a faux finish it is best to practice on a piece of plywood first. Oil-based paints tend to stick better so go with these.

For finishing it will take three coats of urethane to get the floor smooth but wit three days so that the undercoats will harden first. Try for a “non-yellowing” urehthane because, obviously, not every surface would look good as a yellow.

Painting Floors

If someone were to inform you that he or she was going to paint their floor you would probably think they meant the garage floor or a basement floor. After all, floors are meant to be covered with a material, wood or laminate as examples. Many others are covered with carpet or vinyl. However, painting is never mentioned.

Painted floors are really quite beautiful. In fact you can do a faux finish, a checkerboard look or patterns just like a wood floor. In fact you can get an “antiquing” done which mimics wood, tile or other types of real flooring material.

The key is to have the floor completely blemish-free. tis can be accomplished by leveling compounds or wood fillers. Make sure you use a good, heavy wood filler as the lighter ones can shrink and cause cracks. Then the floor should be sanded with an orbital flooring sander to smooth the surface.

Next comes the primer but make sure you use a flooring primer. This should be an oil-based product as it will adhere to the flooring better than a water-based material. You should apply at least 2 coats of primer to cover the wood grains and any imperfections left after the sanding.

Now comes the fun part. Design your floor and mark the primer so that you know what you want and where you want it. Start with the main color first and let dry for at least 3 days. Now you can do stenciling, pinstriping or other patterns. The last stage is the urethane coatings. Now you can use a water-based product because it won’t yellow over time. Do 3 coats of this and let dry a day between each.

How long does it last? Well this is how they do dance floors and gymnasiums and the paint looks greast with all theta traffic.