Painting a wood floor

reitseal

Hi, I want to paint a bedroom floor white and wondering if anyone has any tips or has already done it. The bedroom currently has the normal wood floorboards left by the builder, and no sanding or varnishing. I'm after a sort of 'New England matte' understated look rather than satin or glossy.

Can anyone advise me on paint type, preparation tips etc?

Thanks

aujopimur

Specific floor paint is available from most paint supplier outlets.

DaisyBeeton

Hi, For that New England matte look that you'd like, you might look at Farrow and Ball who do all their colours in a Floor Paint, in an Eggshell Finish (20% sheen). It's fully washable and perfect for timber or concrete floors.

Also,have you considered "Liming"? It might be another option for you. It looks like diluted paint where you will still vaguely see the knots and grain of the timber. Whereas, with Floor Paint, it would be a completely covered finish.

You may want to sand the floor boards first depending on their smoothness and the end look you'd like. Wipe off any dust off your floor boards first with Methylated Spirits.

If you choose the floor paint, you should treat the knots on the bare floor boards first, because otherwise they will "bleed" through the paint in a few years and look like brown blobs of stain all over your floor. Rustins do a liquid product called "Knotting Solution". You just daub it onto each knot with a paint brush. It seals the sap in the knots.

For a primer next: Zinesser do a primer especially for bare, new wood and it is called B.I.N 123. It's in a red tin. It is very expensive, but it is superb, because it is Shellac based and gives a great base to your top paint coat. It says on it's tin that there is no need to seal knots first, but as I have learned the long, hard way with house building and decorating - you can't be too careful and I always do the knot sealer first and then 2 coats of B.I.N on top of that. Then, finally your Floor Paint colour.

All the best with the project.

reitseal

Thanks for that Daisy, really helpful

Yeah I'd say 'liming' is exactly what I'm after. So for that, do I just get an ordinary matte white paint and apply one coat (after the primer and knots cover you mentioned)?

byrybak

there is no need for knotting solutions as zinsser bin 123 seals knots aswel.

OVERVIEW:
B-I-N is the original pigmented shellac stain-killing primer-sealer. Great for knots, water stains, fire and smoke damage. Best interior new wood primer. Dries in minutes; recoat in 45 minutes. Seals in tough stains, pet, smoke and fire odors. Great under all topcoats.
PRODUCT FEATURES:Shellac-base primer-sealerFor interior and spot exterior useGreatest stain sealerSeals knots and sap streaksSeals pet, smoke and musty odorsSticks to all surfaces without sandingLightning fast dry - recoat in 45 minute

DaisyBeeton

If you do decide to go ahead with the "Liming" you wouldn't be priming or sealing anything first, because with "Liming" you want to able to see the knots and grain in the wood and not cover it up with primers and knotting solutions. So, you do need bare, unfininished wood for this.

I personally haven't done any "Liming" before, so I can't offer you any further tips.

I think MRCB in Cornmarket Street in Dublin 8 do "liming" products, or at least they would be able to advise you.

Hope this helps you.

reitseal

Yes I've since done a bit of research on liming since and it looks as though it's not as complicated a process .... I can give it a go and if it doesn't go well, at least I can sand back to bare wood pretty easily.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction Daisy