Painting your old hardwood floors is a great way to bring new life to them without the mess and expense of refinishing them. It takes a lot of time and patience to paint hardwood floors, but it can really pay off in the end, especially if you decide to get creative.
Here are the necessary steps for painting hardwood floors:
Prep: Start by scuff-sanding the floor with 150-grit sandpaper. The goal of the hand sanding is not to make the floor smooth, but to rough it up so that primer will adhere well to the surface.
Clean Up: Vacuum up any dust left behind, and wipe down the floors with a damp cloth. Then wash the floor with wood cleaner and allow it to dry for at least two days. If the floors still have moisture in them when they are primed or painted, it is likely to bubble.
Apply Primer: A penetrating oil-based primer is usually recommended to seal the surface of the floor; however, a good latex primer could do the job as well. Consult Mesa, AZ house painters for the right product to use for your situation. You want the color coats to be made specifically for use on floors; therefore, if the paint is latex, use a latex primer; if oil, use oil primer. After the primer is applied, allow it to dry overnight or at least 24 hours for oil products.
Re-Sand: The primed areas must be sanded again because new wood fibers get flooded with moisture and swell up after priming. Use a 220-grit sandpaper for this round of sanding. Clean up the debris once more using a vacuum, and wipe up any extra using a tack cloth. Cotton or paper towels will leave fibers in your paint job.
Apply Color: A brush or a roller can be used to apply the paint color. You want thin coats of paint. While the roller will be faster than using a brush, you must roll very slowly to avoid creating bubbles. A brush will create no bubbles but it is very labor intensive.
Let It Dry: After the first coat, wait at least 24 hours before applying the next coat. Each coat needs to be thoroughly dried to avoid bubbles. The thinner the paint layer, the faster and more evenly it will dry.
Add More Color: For a successful hardwood paint job, you must apply two more layers of thin color coats, allowing each to dry for 24 hours in between.
Apply A Topcoat: To ensure the durability of your new paint job, add a top coat of polyurethane clear coat. Again, allow 24 hours to dry between coats if you choose to do more than one.
Now that your paint job is complete, wait at least another day or so to walk on it, and after that only in socks for a day or two. The longer the paint is given to cure, the harder the finish will be!