Painting Floors - Tips and Techniques
The minute you apply the first brush stroke of paint to your floor you are
going to cringe. There is something very unnatural about painting a floor. I
still am not comfortable when I do it. I feel this compulsion to immediately
clean the paint from the floor! After all, spilling or dripping paint on most
floors is a bad thing.
What Can be Painted?
Just about any flooring material you can think of can be successfully
painted. Ceramic tile, sheet vinyl, old linoleum, hardwood, vinyl tile, etc. are
all perfect candidates. If you have ever tried to clean up old paint drips or
splatter from a floor you know what I am saying is true. High quality paint that
is applied to a clean floor and then allowed to cure is virtually impossible to
remove from most flooring materials. Cover the paint with two or three coats of
urethane and you will have a devil of a time getting it up!
The preparation process for all flooring materials is the same. You need to
get the floors squeaky clean and remove all traces of wax. Dirt, wax and glossy
surfaces prohibit good adhesion between the paint and the floor. Remember, paint
is simply colored glue. It is nothing more than that. Glue doesn't stick well to
dirt, dust, wax or other high gloss surfaces.
Glazed ceramic tiles can be painted with great results if you lightly sand
the tile after it is clean and dry. The sanding dulls the glazing and actually
creates micro-grooves that allow paint to grab better.
Primers
It is usually necessary to apply a primer to the floor before you paint.
Primers do a great job if the surface to be painted has uneven texture or
porosity. This is what bare wood or freshly finished drywall has. Primers even
out all of the imperfections and allow the finish paint to soak into the surface
at an even rate. A ceramic tile floor or sheet vinyl floor already has fairly
even porosity. The only areas that might need primer in these examples would be
the grout. Grout has a completely different texture than the tile itself. Even
after applying a primer, there is a good chance you will see a gloss difference
when you finish the job.
Get Crazy!
Would you like to raise some eyebrows? Create a geometric pattern and
transfer it to the floor you intend to paint. Have you seen those cool stenciled
walls in designer and decorator houses? Why not stencil your kitchen or family
room floor? The possibilities are endless.
Basement playrooms are the best. If you want to see what I mean, you should
go to Asheville, North Carolina to the famous Biltmore Estate. One Halloween the
Vanderbilt children and their friends were allowed to paint a basement space to
their hearts' delight. The wall paints and designs are still there today.
Floors make great places for maps, lakes, roadways, or any other thing you
find in nature. Take my son for example. He plays make believe all the time in
our current living room. The floor is the surface of the earth. If he is playing
with boats, then the floor is ocean blue to him at that point in time. I am
getting ready to paint a basement room floor area so that he actually has his
ocean, his roadway, army battlefield, etc. You can do the same. Remember, once
they outgrow it, simply paint it again with a new concept, color, border,
stencil or whatever.
Applying Paint
You will paint the floor exactly as you have painted walls and woodwork for
years. Use a combination of the best rollers and brushes you can buy. Cheap
rollers and brushes yield inferior results. Spending five or seven more dollars
for a good brush is worth it. Don't get cheap on me here.
To get the smoothest floor, you need to clean it and then inspect it at
night. Defects, bumps, etc show up best if you use an automotive trouble light
that is held down at floor level so the light beams strike the floor nearly
parallel. The smallest bump will seem like a mountain under these light
conditions. Scrape bumps off and vacuum them. Fill tiny holes and cracks with
standard wood filler. Sand it once it is dry. Filled areas will have to be
primed before you paint or you will see a texture/gloss difference.
Sheet Vinyl Embossing
Should you fill in the embossed patterns on a sheet vinyl floor? It is up to
you and it is a lot of work. It also creates a problem if the filler doesn't
bond well.
I suggest that you paint a small test patch - say 2 feet by 2 feet first. See
if you like the look under daylight conditions and nighttime lighting. You might
be amazed at how the embossed pattern actually enhances the look of the floor -
much like a Berber carpet pattern. Good luck with your painted floor!
