Can Hardwood Floors Be Painted?

Painting hardwood floors is possible. However, we advise against it for most people.

We have seen a recent rise in photos of painted hardwood floors online. Pictures of bright and unique floors are being shared on social media. However, we believe this is a social media trend happening outside the influence of flooring experts and general contractors. Painting hardwood floors can create a novel and exciting look, but we will share with you why we believe painting hardwood floors is not an ideal solution for most people.

DIY Nightmare

Painting hardwood floors can quickly become a nightmare. The preparation isn't too much different from a typical stain and finishing job, but the actual painting can get overwhelming fast.

A hardwood floor can take between three to five coats of paint. Each coat's dry time can be between 12 and 24 hours. These staggered dry times can quickly become a week or more work. If the floors are in an area of your home that you need access to, this can become a real pain.

Once you've finished your three to five coats of paint, you will need a final layer of some sealer to protect the paint from scuffing, scratching, or chipping. This will only add more time to the project.

Not A Practical Choice

Painting hardwood floors may result in interesting and unique floors. However, painted hardwood floors are very delicate and will begin to show signs of wear immediately. Regardless of how many coats of paint you use and how well you seal the paint, painted hardwood floors will not look fresh for long. This is especially true if the painted floors are in high-traffic areas.

The best you could hope for would be to see fading and discoloration on the floors. But, unfortunately, most painted floors will begin to chip and quickly become a problem.

Painted Hardwoods Are Hard To Restore

Once hardwood floors have been painted, removing all the signs of paint becomes nearly impossible. Hardwood absorbs paint, making it a massive task to sand and strip the floors to return them to normal. Once hardwood floors have been painted, there usually is no going back.

Painted Hardwood Floors Need Constant Maintenance

Painted hardwood floors will need to be repainted at least once a year. For lighter colors, you could expect to have to repaint them even more than that. Repainting isn't a big deal for some people, but for others, this will become a hassle very quickly.

Consider Staining Your Floors Instead

Staining hardwood floors is an industry standard for a reason. With many different colors and finishing textures, there are many interesting options for your hardwood floors. Staining is a much more efficient way to stylize your hardwood floors and protect and prolong the floor's life. Not to mention, the maintenance on properly stained hardwood floors is nothing compared to paint.

We hope we have given you some reasons to reconsider painting your hardwood floors. We realize fun and quirky photos of painted hardwood floors are circulating on social media. However, we believe these painted floors are more of an online novelty than a practical and functional solution for the average person.