How To Paint Laminate Floors Like A Pro

While putting a new floor down comes with the advantage of renewing a room’s design, it’s a costly venture and also incredibly time consuming.

How To Paint Laminate Floors Like A Pro

Luckily, there are a few alternative options to redoing your entire floor. For example, you could paint your existing laminate floor to save some time and money.

Although it sounds difficult, painting your laminate flooring is relatively easy. All you have to do is clean the laminate and then sand it down.

There are quite a few additional steps when painting your laminate flooring to ensure that the end result looks fresh and beautiful.

In this article, we show you how to paint your laminate floors and everything you need to know to get the best results.

Can You Paint Laminate Flooring?

Yes, you can easily paint your laminate floor when you use the right tools and prepare your laminate properly before you paint it.

What You Need To Know Before Painting Laminate Floors

Before you pick up your paintbrush and put a fresh, new color on your laminate flooring, it is a good idea to get a better understanding of how laminate flooring is constructed.

This can help you get a better end result when painting your floor.

Laminate flooring is made of individual laminate planks which are manufactured from high-density fiberboard.

A laminate plank is made of four layers. The first protective layer helps prevent your flooring from being scratched, stained or burned.

It also protects your floor from any chemical spills as well as wear and tear.

This layer is typically made with melamine which is tightly pressed onto the other laminate layers, and then sealed.

The layer underneath the protective layer is the design of your flooring. This could be almost anything, from a classic oak look to a marble design.

This design layer is effectively made from an image that was printed onto the layer and then sealed with a coat of resin.

While the design layer is just a printed image, it gives the flooring its unique appearance, looking almost as real as true marble or real wood flooring.

Underneath the design layer, you’ll find the core board layer which keeps any moisture out. This layer is made from high-quality, durable resin as well as real wood fibers.

It’s the core layer that gives your flooring strength and a stable structure.

The fourth and final layer of your laminate plank has a similar function. Called the balancing layer, it helps to stabilize and strengthen the flooring.

It ensures that the floor does not break or bend under heavy weights making laminate flooring an incredibly long-lasting and durable type of flooring.

Saying this, a good-quality laminate floor may withstand a lot of wear and tear over time, it does wear down.

If you find that your laminate floor is worn, torn, scratched or simply old, then it is a good idea to consider either new flooring or painting your existing laminate.

Renewing your entire floor is, however, costly and extremely time-consuming, so you may end up having builders around for a while.

In comparison, painting your laminate flooring is relatively cheap and you can do it yourself in just a few hours.

Tools For Painting Your Laminate Floor

Painting your laminate flooring is not just much cheaper than a big renovation project but you will find that it gives you exactly the same results.

Before you get started with the painting job, you’ll need a few essential tools.

Floor Paint

Select the paint of your choice. It’s important that the paint is hard wearing but also suitable for flooring.

Generally, it’s a good idea to get a high-quality paint as it will be much more durable.

Primer

A good-quality oil-based primer will ensure that your paint stays beautiful for longer and it will protect your floor.

Plus, the right primer will also give your new laminate floors the same look and feels as that of a professionally installed job.

Sealant

When you are looking for a sealant, make sure that it’s a good-quality product as the sealant will be the top coat of your laminate flooring protecting it from damage.

Painting Equipment

In order to apply the paint, primer and sealant, you will need to a few different rollers, paintbrushes and a painter’s tray.

Plus, don’t forget to have some painter’s tape at hand to tape off any areas that you don’t want to paint.

Floor Sander

You will also need a floor sander to prepare your laminate flooring for the painting job.

Cleaning Equipment

It’s a good idea to get some of your cleaning equipment out, including a map, an old towel, and your all-purpose cleaner.

You can then quickly remove any paint stains or dust and dirt.

How To Paint Laminate Floors Like A Pro

How To Paint Laminate Floor: A Tutorial

When it comes to painting your laminate flooring, you will need to follow a few essential steps.

It’s important that you take good care when working through the below steps to make sure that they are all done properly as this will impact the end result of your painting job.

1. Clean Your Laminate Floor

Before you get started with preparing your laminate, it’s best to give your floor a thorough clean.

Use a vacuum cleaner or broom to sweep any debris, dirt and dust away. Then, apply some cleaner and mop your laminate surfaces until they are perfectly clean.

While cleaning an old floor doesn’t seem to be important, it’s a vital step to make sure that there is no dust left on the floor.

Any debris or dust would get locked in when you are painting the laminate and this would affect the overall look of your floor later.

Don’t put the cleaning items too far away, as you will need them again after the next step.

2. Sand The Laminate

Once your floor is shiny and clean, it’s time to prepare your laminate by sanding it down.

You want to make sure that your sander is strong enough to sand down the top layer of the laminate planks.

You will only need to remove the top finish of the laminate until it looks dull. This will make your paint job look more professional.

If you are doing DIY regularly, then you may know that sanding the layer of a wood surface is important before you apply paint.

It will make the paint stick better as well as look more natural.

When you are sanding your laminate floors, then the top should look dull and smooth. The floor will end up looking very scuffed and worn after the sanding process.

That’s the perfect time to stop sanding. You don’t want to take too much of the laminate layers off as this could cause damage to the stability of the laminate planks and the entire floor.

3. Give Your Laminate A Second Clean

When you are finished sanding the laminate surface, then you’ll need to remove all the debris and the dust.

Hoover the floor again and mop it with the all-purpose cleaner. It’s important that you give the laminate a proper scrub to ensure all the dust is gone.

At this stage, it can be worthwhile using a damp towel and scrubbing the floor until it’s clean.

4. Repair Damaged Floor Planks

With all the scrubbing and cleaning, you may have noticed that there are damaged areas on your floor.

Some major damage, such as serious scratch marks or holes, should be repaired as soon as possible.

This can be done with laminate floor sealant which allows you to just fill in the hole or any scratches.

However, not all damage can be repaired easily, so if you have a large hole in your laminate flooring where all the layers of the plank are damaged, then it’s best to replace the plank.

5. Protect Areas From Paint

Before you pick up your paint and paintbrush, it is a good idea to cover up any areas that you don’t want painted.

Use your painter’s tape to protect walls, cabinets or runners that shouldn’t come into contact with paint.

Good painter’s tape from your local hardware store shouldn’t stick to anything for too long, and it protects any paint-free areas from unwanted paint spills.

6. Apply The Primer To Your Floor

The first step towards painting your floor is priming the laminate surface. This will help the paint to stick to the laminate better, and primer will also create a more professional look.

With the sanding, you took the top layer off the laminate, and by applying the primer, you now seal the base layers again.

This does not just protect the bottom layers of the laminate but it also makes it look cleaner.

In order to ensure that your laminate paint job looks great, it’s a good idea to get an oil-based primer that is high quality.

Priming the laminate works in a similar way to applying paint. You just need to apply a smooth and even coat.

Check the instructions on the primer label for how to apply the product and how many coats you need.

You should start priming your laminate at one of the far ends of your floor. This means you can apply an even layer without any drips or imperfections.

Before you begin painting, make sure that the primer has plenty of time to dry fully. You should also avoid using the primed area until it is fully dry.

7. Apply The Laminate Paint

From all the many steps to prepare your floor, you can see that the preparation contributes a lot to an excellent end result.

But once you prepped your floor, it’s time to apply the paint. You can do this in the same way as with the primer.

Start at the far end of the laminate surface area and try to avoid any paint spills or drips as they could cause bumps and lumps on the floor.

If you have chosen a specifically designed floor paint, then it should withstand all the wear and tear from foot traffic and other challenges your laminate flooring faces every day.

Check the label on the floor paint to see how many coats you need to apply. Typically, you will need between two to four coats.

Bear in mind that each coat is a protection layer that keeps your floor safe from wear, so it can be a good idea to apply an extra coat in a busy area with lots of footfall.

It’s essential that you allow each paint coat to dry fully before you apply the next coat.

8. Finish Your Paint Job With The Sealant

Applying a high-quality sealant is the final step to finish off painting your laminate flooring. A sealant is essential because it protects the newly painted area from being scratched.

Plus, the sealant will also make sure that the paint lasts for as long as possible.

There are a range of different sealants that are suitable for laminate flooring. One of the most popular is polyurethane sealant.

It applies a clear top layer over your painted floor keeping your laminate protected from scratches.

With most sealants, you will need to apply only a couple of coats for the best results.

Once your final sealant coat has fully dried, you are ready to remove the painter’s tape and put your rugs and furniture back where they belong.

Related: How To Paint A Plastic Bathtub.

How To Get The Best Results When Painting Your Laminate Floors

A DIY job doesn’t mean that your floors cannot look professional. One of the easiest ways to ensure that your laminate floors like new is by using high-quality materials.

If you invest a little more money in a good quality paint, sealant and primer, then the laminate surface will look its best.

It’s important to go through each step that we mentioned above. Take plenty of time to prepare your laminate floor properly. This will improve the end results.

Many people also forget that they should use floor paint for this job.

Floor paint is specifically designed for the use on floors and it can withstand any damage much better than other types of paint.

One of the most important secrets to painting your laminate floor is taking your time. Follow each step carefully and you will get the stunning floor that you want.

Final Thoughts

Painting your laminate floor can save you a lot of cash compared to rebuilding your entire floor.

But it’s essential that you take plenty of time to prepare and paint your floor. When you are doing everything with care, then you will end up with a beautiful and shining new floor.

Shauna Stone