To many people the thought of painting a wooden floor is sacrilege however if you have floorboards which are in a real mess or you want a totally new look, then paining your wooden floors is one option that some people go for.

5 Steps to Painting Your Wooden Flooring

1# Sand and Clean

Make sure that the wood has been well sanded – especially if there have been any previous coats of varnish or urethane. Once you have done this give the floor a good clean to make sure that there is no dust, hairs or other debris lying around as this can get into the paint. If there is any wax on the wood then use a wax remover on it.

2# Repair Your Floor

If you have gaps between your floorboards, dents or holes then this is the time to fill them with wood filler. This is not difficult to do and you can easily buy wood filler from your local DIY store.

3# Priming Sealer

Using a roller, apply the primer to the wood. If you like, you can use a tinted primer if you are painting your floors a dark colour.

4# Paint the Wood

Make sure that the layer of primer is totally dry before applying the coat of oil-based paint. When the paint is dry add another layer. Of course, when applying your primer and paint make sure that you start at the furthest away area of the room otherwise you could paint yourself into a corner!

5# Polyurethane

Now that you have applied two coats of paint you then need to apply at least three coats of polyurethane to make sure that your floorboards keep in good condition.

Back in the 17th century the Upper classes installed decorative parquet flooring however this was very expensive for most people so painting their floors became the next best thing. When deciding to paint your floors you may want to think about a design, some people paint squares whilst others use a decorative stencil around the edge.

Think long and hard as to whether you really want to paint your floors because removing paint is a very messy time-consuming task.