Browsing the internet can be a dangerous game, especially if you’re in the process of renovating your home. Before you know it you’re knee deep in Pinterest ideas and trying some crazy decor tips that you would have never thought of before! One of the things you may have come across when browsing is painted laminate floorboards. Now we must stress that we’re not knocking the ideas that come from these kind of websites, but as with most things on the internet - it’s not always what it’s cracked up to be. So, should you paint laminate flooring? The answer; no, not really.

We’re not saying that you can’t paint laminate flooring, you can paint whatever you like! What we are saying is that we wouldn’t recommend doing so. Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean that you should. Plus, laminate floors aren’t manufactured to be painted, so whilst it may look attractive and fresh at first, it’s not really suitable for the long term. More often than not the paint won’t stick to laminate floors, so it is likely to chip and eventually scratch off. What this means is that in the end you’re probably going to have to keep painting the floor in order to maintain the look anyway.

 

So What Are The Most Common Problems That You May Face If You Do Decide To Paint Your Laminate?

Lets start with the most basic, and most persistent issue when it comes to anything to do with flooring; preparing the surface. If the surface is not properly prepared then the paint definitely wont stick to it and will more than likely scrape off very easily. In order to prepare the surface properly you need to ensure that it has been properly vacuumed and cleaned, as any residue dust or dirt will also prevent the paint from sticking.

If you are dead set on painting the floor it can be difficult to know what type of primer/paint to use. In this instance we would recommend checking with the manufacturer as to what (if any) the best option may be. There is one thing we can say for sure though, do not use bog-standard wall paint as this will bubble up rather than adhere to the floor.

Sanding can also be a bit of a touchy subject, understandably there are a lot of questions when it comes to this. If you do sand the floor then you would need to sand off the wear layer and go down to the bare wood material using a sander for the most part, then switching to sand paper for the remaining edges. However you do need to avoid going too deep with the overall sanding as this can cause a lot of ruts and groove in the softer material beneath the wear layer. If you do sand the floor then the method we recommend would be sanding away the plastic wear layer and painting the bare wood, this way you have a better chance of the paint sticking. Alternatively you could skip the sanding completely, which is a bit controversial but it has been done!

In a nutshell, you definitely can paint your laminate floor and there are plenty of how-to guides floating around. But if you want the opinion of a professional flooring retailer - don’t. Laminate is a stunning addition to any home and it rarely requires touching up, let alone being painted.

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