Sometimes painting hardwood floor can end up looking nicer than any laminated floor or tiles that you might be thinking would have been a good replacement. Painting a hardwood floor can also resurrect a highly damaged floor and make it last a few years longer. One of the keys is to use a very thick brightly colored paint with a deep hue that is sure to cover over the original grain.
There are also a few other things that you should remember to do when painting hardwood floor. One secret is to really slather on the urethane. Coating your dried painted floor surface with three or more coats of urethane will keep the floor shiny and increase its durability. The paint itself will not create a surface that can stand up to years of foot traffic. A hardwood floor that is not coated with urethane will easily lose its painted luster. Yet another important function of the coats of smooth urethane is that they will protect the floors from absorbing dirt, water and other contaminants.
You should treat painting hardwood floor like you would any other sort of painting task. First of all make sure that the hardwood floor that you are painting on is clean, dry, smooth and free of dust, hair and other particles. If the hardwood floor has very large holes or seams or large dents or dips in its surface you may need to fill the hole with plastic wood type fillers. These plastic wood type fillers are widely available in home renovation and hardware shops. Once mixed with water they dry to a very heavy and hard surface.
Before you paint a bare wood floor you should make sure it is primed. These sealers help hide the wood grain that might show through the paint after you have finished painting. If the hardwood floor already has a varnish or urethane finish on it you should make sure it is well sanded before you apply primer. If this gets complicated you can always ask a store employee to help you or you can ask for a list of compatible primers that work well with specific finish coat paint products. Most manufacturers print this kind of list and make them available at paint supply stores so you can make sure their products are compatible.
In general Oil paints work best for floor painting. The oil resins have a tendency to adhere more nicely to the hardwood than water-based paints. They also tend to dry and harden faster, thus shortening the length of your hardwood floor painting project.
Yet a final charming touch could be to add some faux finishes, patterns or designs to your floor. You can buy stencils that make this type of floor painting project incredibly easy.
