The correct selection of tools and materials for painting wooden floors in living quarters, especially the preparation of old and new coatings for the application of coloring compositions, technological rules of work. Do-it-yourself painting of a wooden floor is a laborious process that requires special equipment. However, it is not particularly complicated. You can fully express your creative nature and make the apartment unique with an unusual solution.
Essential tools for painting a wooden floor
Today, you can paint the floor in a room using varnish and paint. At the same time, it is important to correctly choose not only the compositions for finishing, but also the tools. After all, if you do not pay due attention to this issue, then all the flaws in the work will be visible, as well as stains, irregularities, gaps.
In our work we need the following tools:
- Roller … It significantly speeds up the process of painting the floor. In addition, it distributes the paint in even layers without pronounced transitions. For finishing wooden floors, it is best to opt for a roller with a long handle. This will greatly facilitate the process of applying paint and save you from awkward positions. The floor roller should have a medium bristle length.
- Brush … This tool is necessary for painting over corners, baseboards and places where it is inconvenient to use a roller.
- Special tray … Of course, you can save money and choose any available container for pouring paint, but this will increase the consumption of material. The tray has a special design, in which there is a slope to avoid paint settling on the edges of the container and a ribbed surface for removing excess product from the roller or brush.
- Masking tape … It will be necessary in the case of drawing a pattern on the floor surface or in the presence of places that do not need painting. The adhesive tape has a durable waterproof base, which completely excludes the penetration of water, paint or varnish under it.
- Various spatulas … This tool is needed to remove old paint or varnish from the floor, when filling cracks and gaps between the planks.
- Chisel … With this tool, you can widen the sex gap, remove unnecessary knots, loose chips and other irregularities.
- Parquet scraper … You cannot cope without it if you are dealing with old parquet or varnished floors. It will allow you to process a large surface quickly and with high quality and get a smooth, even coating.
- Building hair dryer … The need for this tool will appear when working with a floor on which several layers of paint are applied. With it, you can easily clear a large area of it in a short time.
Selection of materials for painting wood floor
After you have decided on the tool, you need to select the necessary materials. When painting wooden floors, you will definitely need a putty to seal cracks and cracks, drying oil, paint, a solvent to dilute it and clean your hands upon completion of work. Let's dwell on each material in more detail.
Wood floor putty
There are several varieties of putty for woodworking. When choosing it, start from those characteristics that you need to get at the end of the work.
Consider the types of putties for a wooden floor:
- Oil and oil-chalk putties … They fit well, are easy to use and have a long service life. However, they take a very long time to dry. Therefore, the period of painting floors when using them is increased compared to other materials.
- Acrylic fillers … Today they are considered the most convenient to work with. They look good, do not crack in the future when the board is deformed, they are suitable for sealing small indentations in the floor, they dry quickly.
- Homemade putty … This type of material is easy to prepare at home. This will require wood glue and small sawdust. This filler is well suited for preparing floors for varnishing. It does not crack over time, dries quickly, and is easy to apply.
Wood floor paint
The quality of the paint has a huge impact on the condition and appearance of your future coating. Therefore, it is necessary to choose it not only according to the price and recommendations of the sellers, but also based on the humidity of the room, the presence of external mechanical impact on the floor, the condition and type of wood planks.
Oil paint is considered the most inexpensive, resistant to constant stress, has a long service life. Among the disadvantages of this paint, it is worth noting an unpleasant odor and the need for a long drying of the room. Acrylic is easy to apply, dries quickly, but has a significant cost.
After you have chosen the paint, you need to calculate the required amount. For this, there is an instruction on the bank itself. Based on it and the number of squares of your floor, you can easily calculate the required volume.
Typically, one square meter of flooring is used from 200 to 250 grams of paint. This amount of composition is lost when the coating is applied in one layer. When painting in two, you need to double the calculated amount.
Wood floor varnishes
Varnishes are used when covering parquet or restoring an old natural wood floor, if it has a beautiful pattern. For these purposes, the following compositions can be used:
- Alkyd based varnish … This material has different shades, is easy to apply, tolerates high humidity and external influences. It works great for all types of wood. However, this type of varnish dries for a long time (at least a day). When applied in large quantities, it can wrinkle and spoil the appearance of the floor.
- Acrylic based varnish … This type is easy to apply, eliminates creaking between parquet floorboards, dries quickly, and has a low cost. However, it has a number of serious drawbacks, including a short service life, discoloration in direct sunlight, and low resistance to mechanical stress.
The calculation of the required amount of this material is made in the same way as for paints.
When buying several cans of paint or varnish, pay attention to the batch number. It should be the same. This is due to the fact that the composition can have different tones even when choosing the same color.
Preparatory work before painting a wooden floor
Preparing a wooden floor for painting or varnishing is mandatory. It doesn't matter if your flooring is old or just laid. Of course, an old floor that has been painted over and over will take a little more effort and time than a new floor to prepare.
Preparing the old floor for painting is about returning the wood to a practically new state. This is both material and time-consuming.
Let's consider how to prepare a wooden floor for painting:
- At the first stage, we remove the old skirting boards. Then we clean the resulting space from debris and old putty.
- Now you need to carefully examine the condition of the nails with which the floorboards are attached to the logs. They can fall out, deteriorate or stick out of the canvas. If necessary, the nails are replaced with new ones. The protruding ones need to be drowned in the tree so that they do not interfere with further work.
- We will definitely examine the condition of the floorboards. If there is a need for replacement (crack, rot), this must be done before painting the old wood floor.
- We proceed to remove paint from the surface. The grinder will help with this. It will easily remove old paint and various irregularities. If you are dealing with several layers, then you need to use a construction hairdryer. The tool will pick up the paint, and then you can easily remove it with a special scraper.
- We subject the surface obtained after cleaning to a thorough revision and assessment. If you find significant bumps or bumps, then you will need a sander to remove them. If the floor has cracks or cracks, then it is necessary to carefully seal everything up with a putty and clean the resulting surfaces.
- All debris that forms during the work must be carefully removed. You will not be able to do such an operation manually with a broom. Therefore, it is recommended to use a vacuum cleaner, preferably a construction one.
- Now we treat the sealed and prepared surface with drying oil or primers, which have high aseptic and adhesion properties. This way, you protect your floor from the harmful effects of vermin and moisture. After such treatment, it is necessary that the floor surface dries well (at least a day).
Painting a new wooden floor does not require much effort at the preparatory stage if the craftsmen have done their job efficiently and responsibly. However, you still have to use a sander. Especially if you plan to varnish the wood. This is necessary to obtain a perfectly flat surface.
After that, you need to treat the floor with linseed oil or primer. You need to do this two times. This is due to the fact that the first layer is completely absorbed into the wood. But the second creates the surface necessary for painting.
Instructions for applying paint to a wooden floor
Even if you decide to paint on the floor, you still have to do the first coat of paint in one color. Therefore, first you need to prepare the entire tool and the main coloring composition.
Stir the paint thoroughly in a jar before starting the application. This will help get rid of possible clots. If the concentration of the composition is very thick, it must be diluted with a special agent.
In order not to stain clothes and hands, we change into work clothes, hide our hair under a cap or kerchief. We put on gloves on our hands.
Now you can get to work, following the technology of painting a wooden floor:
- Pour a small amount of paint into the prepared tray.
- Having dipped a brush, we begin to paint over the places where the skirting boards were installed. And so along the entire perimeter of the room.
- Now, using a roller, we start painting the entire room. It is recommended that you start at the front corner and end at the doors.
- After the first layer of paint has dried well, it is necessary to install the skirting boards and putty the gaps well.
- When the applied putty has frozen, the resulting surface is thoroughly cleaned and cleaned of the resulting debris.
- If your walls are painted, you need to stick masking tape along the line of the baseboards. This will prevent paint from spilling onto the wall.
- With a brush, carefully paint over the skirting boards twice. After your skirting board is dry, apply a second coat of paint to the floor. If you are planning a drawing, markup is done and a different tone is worn in two layers.
- When your floor is completely dry, wash the surface with soap and water. This way, you will get rid of the stickiness that is inherent in a freshly painted surface.
The varnish is applied to the floor surface in exactly the same way.
How to paint a wooden floor with paint - watch the video:
There is nothing complicated in the process of painting a wooden floor. And if you show your imagination, you can make the flooring not only beautiful, but also original. Indeed, today the Internet offers a huge number of options for painting a wooden floor.
