How do I protect painted floors?

Question

We recently painted over our worn hardwood floors in the house, because we could not effort to have them refinished. We used a good porch and patio floor paint from BEHR, two coats in a walnut brown. It looks very good, however, it is so sensitive to scratches, scuffs and dirt. You see every footprint! If I wipe it with a moist rag, you even see the wipe! (It says its not supposed to get washed until it cures after 4 weeks). Is there anything I can do to protect the floor and make it less sensitive? Cover It with polyurethane? Or do I need to remove the paint and actually refinish the floor?

KMS Woodworks · Answer

Dark colors will show dirt, whether it is paint or a dark stain. The benefit of stain is the wood's grain will distract the eye somewhat so the foot prints are not as prominent. Adding poly on top of the paint will make it a bit more durable, but it is still just a surface finish. Penetrating oil finishes rely on the natural durability of the wood. Some woods are much more durable than others. This hardness is measured with the Janka test. Red oak comes in at about 1300, I used Brazilian Cherry in my master bed room and it comes in at 2350, Ipe (my deck) comes in at 3684...which is near the top of the list. Check out this article I wrote on floor finishes http://www.networx.com/article/exotic-wood-floor-finishes-you-havent-s Another finish I have used recently is Monocoat. http://www.hometalk.com/diy/paint/green-alternative-to-poly-for-your-hardwood-flooring-738270 for a penetrating finish to work you would need to sand down to bare wood.

Jeanette S · Answer

From experience, if you did not sand down the floors a little to make the paint adhere, you might have a problem with peeling! Good luck. Porch paint is not easy to keep clean...I know, I have it on my front porch in a light terracotta color.

Karin W · Answer

Thank you for your help. We have decided to go ahead and lay a new wood floor on top of it.

Debbie Wilson Rowback · Answer

Uh-Oh, I was going to paint my living room floor with Kilz,and porch paint, I have dogs and want something easy to clean and durable. So please tell me if it is NOT a good idea. Help! Lol

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