Preparation Ideas For Painting Floors

Do you hate the way your floors look?

It doesn’t matter if you have tile, cement, wood or linoleum… they can all get tired and worn looking or just plain ugly.

The problem is – you can’t always afford to replace the flooring in our homes just because it’s ugly.

A solution might be - “Paint The Floors”.

Yes it’s a temporary solution. Paint just isn’t meant to last forever… especially if we are walking and cleaning it daily.

photo credit: faster panda kill kill

A painted floor or porch can look fantastic and last for several years. These few years can bridge the gap until you can replace the flooring or you might want to paint it again. It’s an inexpensive alternative to new flooring.

Just think of all the cool ways you could change your floors to match up with your current decorating scheme… and when you want to change – it’s just a matter of getting out the paint and creating an entirely new look.

So… how do you paint floors? I’m going to share a few simple tips right now. Get ready for some great information. You’re going to love these ideas and just how easy it is to paint your floors.

Floor Surface Preparation for Painting

All floors need this step… so don’t skip it. Preparing your floor for paint will ensure that the finished product will last as long as possible.

Concrete Floor Preparation – The concrete floor must be degreased and cleaned before painting the floor. A general purpose or a heavy duty degreaser should be used. I use cat litter sprinkled on for a few days to absorb any greasy “stuff”. Then I wash the floor with TSP -

(trisodium phosphate – purchase at hardware stores) – remember to rinse – rinse and rinse again.

You might need to use an “etcher” on the floor to get it ready to accept paint. If the floor feels smooth and not like fine grit sandpaper… you will need to etch.

Epoxy-based paints are really the best option for painting on cement. They have the best adhesion for concrete than latex based floor paints and will last through several years of wear and tear. Don’t fall into the trap of using wall paint for cement floors. They just are meant to stand up to the wear and tear a floor gets on a daily basis.

The higher the gloss level of the paint the better the wear level will be.

Be careful of slippery floors though… you might want to add some silica sand to the paint to give your feet a bit of “grip”.

Preparation for Painting Wood Flooring – Cleaning and degreasing the wood is necessary. Use a liquid degreaser and clean with TSP as suggested above.

Priming is very important… Prime the wood with two coats of latex primer – it’s a good idea to thin the primer to get it to penetrate the wood.

Wood floors can be painted with acrylic latex paint specifically for floors.

Preparing to Paint Ceramic Tile – Once again… squeaky clean surfaces are a must for great – long lasting results. I use a bathroom cleaner with a bit of bleach and mild abrasive all in one. And scrub. The grout is porous and the tile is not… you knew that. But both surfaces have got to be clean and dry before one drop of primer touches these surfaces.

Prime with the best primer you can afford. I love the 1-2-3 Primer/Sealer from Zinsser. It works like magic.

Use Oil based paints to paint ceramic tile. Anything latex will peal quickly.

Vinyl Floor Preparation – Strip off the wax. Even if you don’t think it has a wax coating… clean it as if it does. You can use a stripper, but TSP works just as well.

Prime with a primer-sealer… this will have the best adhesion. Paint choices for vinyl are oil-based paint, paint with urethane, or porch and garage paints.

Now… let’s get down to the actual painting process for floors.

Tagged as: floor painting prep, how to paint a floor, painting floors