If you have hardwood floors that are looking old and maybe even a bit grungy, you might want to consider how to paint hardwood floors to give them a lift and a new look instead of that same old refinish and stain routine.

It is not as hard as it sounds; it just takes time and some good old-fashion elbow grease. Take your time to do some research; there are many ways to consider how to paint hardwood floors.

1.      Preparation - Before you do anything else you will want to sand down the entire floor, but lightly. What you are doing is using either a palm sander or hand sander with paper using a light grit to just remove any previous finish. Go lightly over the entire floor.

2.      Cleaning – Sweep the floor thoroughly first. Once sanded, you will want to remove all grit, dust and oil from the wood. Do this by cleaning it with a solution of detergent and water. Wherever you see some mildew or mold you can take this out with a one part bleach and two parts water solution. Once you have cleaned it thoroughly with both solutions, be sure to rinse the entire floor.

3.      Priming – You want to start with a primer that is designed for wooden floors. The easiest way is to tell the paint supply person what kind of paint you intend to use. This is because a latex primer can only be used for latex paint but an alkyd primer can be used for alkyd, polyurethane and latex paints. Apply the primer first and let it dry completely before applying paint.

4.      Choosing Paint – When choosing your paint, make sure it is formulated for floors. Also, latex will give you a satin finish while alkyd or polyurethane will give you either a semi-gloss or gloss finish. Check with a paint professional for the kind of finish you want. You might also consider something a bit more adventurous and paint the floor more than one color or try doing one of the various textured finishes to give a different look to your floor.

5.      Painting – Know from the start that you will probably need to do at least two coats because wood floors tend to absorb paint. The older and drier the floor the more they will absorb. Start by painting the edges with a brush to get a nice tidy edge. Then take a roller, add an extension pole and roller paint the center of the floor. If you are doing sections in different colors, you will want to mask off each section and let each section dry in between coats.

6.      Sealing – When completed with all sections, you will want to seal your paint in to prevent damage. The best material for this is clear polyurethane for floors and it will probably need two or three coats. Always let the painted floor stand for at least two days before you apply the sealer and let each coat sit for at least 24 hours between coats.

As you can see, learning how to paint hardwood floors is mostly a matter of patience and being willing to do the work. Sure, you can hire someone to do it. But then you wouldn’t get that satisfaction that comes from looking at that floor every day and knowing you did it yourself. So make your plans, order that paint and you too can know how to paint hardwood floors yourself. You will be so proud of them you may never put those rugs back on!