Tuesday, June 5, 2012

DIY Painted Plywood Floor

We decided to use a dry-brush technique to paint the plywood floor for the time being. I leveled it the best I could and sanded it but seriously didn't worry about it too much. The whole point is we want it to look 'chippy' and old like it has always there. We used the same flat Antique White we used inside and under the cabinets, because it was there. I thinned it down with a little water and used a wash cloth to dab the excess water from the paintbrush before I lightly dry-brushed onto the weathered plywood floor. The paint hit all the rough edges in the wood highlighting the grain and knot holes, but also all my patchwork and leveling compound. I worried over how it was going to come out but kept going. I figured if worse came to worse I could repaint the whole thing solid white. I distressed it even more with my little palm sander once the paint was dry. I was really surprised at how much I liked it once I stood back and looked at it as a whole. I think it looks perfect.






13 comments:

  1. Did you use a sealant/urethane on the floor? I've been thinking about doing something like this on my floors, but all of the diy tutorials say it needs to be sealed with several layers of polyurethane or something similar.

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    1. Next time I would seal it if I used a flat paint, but maybe not if I used a more water resistant paint like satin, eggshell, or gloss. I didn't seal it because I thought it would be too shiny and I wanted it to look rustic/vintage. There are some scratches from sliding furniture and a little wear at the door and kitchen sink I could have avoided had I put rugs there, but I don't really mind and it adds real authenticity to the 'vintage' look I was going for anyway, lol!.
      I just finished pulling up the carpet in my den and painting the subfloor in there. It get's alot more traffic so I used an exterior 'satin' paint hoping it would last longer and be easier to clean. I have pictures and more about it here:
      http://chelleshead.blogspot.com/2014/04/painted-subfloor-in-den.html

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  2. wonderful effect! I have had a burgundy and peach checkerboard floor in our log home for 15 years. I painted the subfloor with Benjamin Moore porch and floor paint which was very pricey even at that time. I then put three coat of oil poly on it just for that slight ambering effect. This floor has been abused and used very hard. The only issue i have ever had are big divots in the floor when something was dropped
    on it. Now we are laying a 8 in plywood plank floor that looks a good bit like your own EXCEPT we are not using conventional paint. We are using milk paint with penetrates the wood surface then set up like iron in a brief time . One coat of Real milk paint iron forge black then a soft white over the black. once this is sanded back the effect is a grey white weathered barn wood...i love it.! over this will be 5 coats of Varathane polycrylic which should last until i die. have fun!

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    1. Would love to see this and know how you did it!

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  3. Looks great, been waiting for they money tree to grow for my new kitchen floor, but truly fed up with yucky plywood! After seeing your pics, im painting it tomorrow!

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  4. How do you clean it?

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  5. Hey! This is beautiful! Is that filler you used in the seams? I apologize if this was already explained.

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  6. Hi, I want to paint my plywood floor and was wondering if paint thinner would work better than thinning it with water ... ?

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    1. I don't believe paint thinner would be a good idea. I used a water based latex paint and thinned it with water.

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    2. I would think paint thinner would break down the paint

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  7. I would like to do something like this to my fifth wheel camper floor. What materials did you use? This is the look I am going for. Thank you!

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  8. Did you use a primer before painting the floor?

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