Searching for what to do with my extensive orange laminate flooring,
I did a few disastrous tests,
nothing would stick,
laminate flooring is absolutely bomb proof,
until I tried this way...
(granted it would have made more sense to remove the rug)
To this... no longer orange.
I gave the whole floor a light sand with a mouse sander,
then plank by plank,
I rubbed a bit of this on with a cloth,
£12.99 for a 750ml tin.
Or you can get a smaller 250ml tin for just £5.99
It's nowhere near as fumey as I expected.
It is a bit like working with tar and I couldn't just buff a bit on like wax, I had to give it a good rough coverage,
then immediately buffed it off with a clean cloth,
just working on about 50cm at a time.
I tentatively walked on it in soft socks after 4 hours
and put the furniture back on it after 24 hours,
but really it's not fully, stuck for 48 hours.
2 days in, dry paper after giving the floor 10 rubs,
nothings coming off.
I wet a corner and it still stayed fast.
I don't reckon it's as bomb proof as untreated laminate,
but I think it's as durable a flooring option as carpet or waxed wood.
Tips - Have one cloth for rubbing on and hundreds of soft cloths and a bin bag at the ready for buffing off.
It's nowhere near as fumey as I expected.
It is a bit like working with tar and I couldn't just buff a bit on like wax, I had to give it a good rough coverage,
then immediately buffed it off with a clean cloth,
just working on about 50cm at a time.
I tentatively walked on it in soft socks after 4 hours
and put the furniture back on it after 24 hours,
but really it's not fully, stuck for 48 hours.
2 days in, dry paper after giving the floor 10 rubs,
nothings coming off.
I wet a corner and it still stayed fast.
I don't reckon it's as bomb proof as untreated laminate,
but I think it's as durable a flooring option as carpet or waxed wood.
Tips - Have one cloth for rubbing on and hundreds of soft cloths and a bin bag at the ready for buffing off.
- Wear disposable latex gloves this paint clings to finger nails.
Also, I only used about a third of the tin, so it only cost £5 to do the room.
More before and after images
The original orange!
And the after staining, in different lights.
I have only done this on my laminate flooring,
so I suspect it will work on all...
but I'd recommend doing a test bit and leaving for 48 hours before you commit!
I'm ridiculously delighted, how this has turned out and...
it saves money for the more boring, yet essential... roof leek and electrics!
I will report back (below) as to how it's faring,
fingers crossed... very well!
Also, I only used about a third of the tin, so it only cost £5 to do the room.
More before and after images
The original orange!
And the after staining, in different lights.
I have only done this on my laminate flooring,
so I suspect it will work on all...
but I'd recommend doing a test bit and leaving for 48 hours before you commit!
I'm ridiculously delighted, how this has turned out and...
it saves money for the more boring, yet essential... roof leek and electrics!
I will report back (below) as to how it's faring,
fingers crossed... very well!
Amazon list of what I used, though you may already have a lot of these things at home.
1. Mouse sander. this one is a bit of a bargain at £20.
3. Cloths I used ripped up old t-shirts etc.
5. Bin bag.
UPDATE
The floor has been stained for over three weeks now,and despite my trepidation's,
it has worked,
it still looks exactly as it did on the first day.
Though
one thing did mark it in the first week.
I cut out some circles of cotton velvet and glued them to the legs of my dressing table chair.
I did it a tad ropily as the chair felt like it was catching every time I pulled it back,
and this is what it did...
Literally dog claws, shoes, constant walking, shoving a Lloyd Loom cabinet across to get to a plug twice a day have not made a dent,
cotton velvet glued to a chair leg...
could dig a trench!
Proper felt pads have been ordered and
fixing it was easier than fixing marks on proper wood,
and it was no where near as workish as the first go.
Dibbed a corner of a cloth into the paint,
rubbed it into the scratches,
turned the cloth over and buffed it off.
Reassured!
I'm now going to tackle the living room orange laminate.
6 week update
Still perfect!
Have now stained the middle hall's orange laminate
and still, so far,
all going well.
The proper felt pads worked a treat,
the chair no longer destroys floors!
Now definitely going to tackle the living room!
After a few months, another update.
The living room orange laminate has now been stained and all staining is still going good.
I was worried it was going to come off bit by bit and the cream stair carpets would slowly turn black but it hasn't it's still fine.
Please excuse the shabbiness of the pics, taken at the end of January on a typical grey day,
so the lighting wasn't brilliant to say the least.
The bedroom floor, still exactly the same.
The hall at least two months after staining.
The (dark) living room in the most high traffic area of the house by the front door, all still good.
I'd still say after 3 months, it's as strong a floor as a waxed wood floor.
You can't drag heavy furniture over it without scratching it,
but you can drag chairs with felt pads over it with no trouble.
It's been walked on with boots, slippers, shoes and trainers and hasn't come off
(haven't tried a stiletto heel).
If you do drag something heavy across and leave a mark,
it is really easy to re-buff a tiny bit of the paint on to the scratch and it disappears.
I bought a 750ml tin and it has stained a largish bedroom, a small living room and a medium sized hallway and there is still about a quarter of the tin left.
This is my most asked about post so I hope this helps,
but please keep sending the messages and if anyone has any 'results' to show me, I would love to see them.
Good luck.
New colours available.
I haven't tried these but I see Johnstones have brought out new garage floor paint colours including white
or dark grey
Which I think could look pretty good.
Contains affiliate links.
Great read!
ReplyDeleteReally well explained guide!
Thank you : )
DeleteGreat post :)
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteHi Lynn! Thank you for sharing. I have the same orange floor and this just saved my life. I was wondering though, how strong is the smell, can you sleep in that room after 48h?
ReplyDeleteHi Denisa, yes you can. The smell from the paint I used wasn't too strong, I think I slept in the room the same day (don't know if that is to be recommended but I was ok). I did have all windows wide open and used a mask while I was painting to avoid inhaling anything though even though it wasn't too fumey. Good luck with this, let me know how you get on. Lynn
DeleteHi! This is great! Exactly what I was looking for. Now to find an equivalent to the Johnstone's over here in the US. Is it kind of like a gel stain?
ReplyDeleteHi Leeanna, I don't think it is like a gel stain, it is the paint you use to paint the concrete floor in garages, good luck, let me know how you get on. Lynn
DeleteExcellent article! Keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much : )
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ReplyDeleteWas your floor just laminate or a wood laminate?
ReplyDeleteHi, apologies for the late reply. The floor is just standard laminate, not wood laminate.
DeleteHi, fabulous post, thank you so much. I am going to do this! I can't stand the orange floors. I wanted to ask about washing the floors, how does it hold up? Mopping etc? Many thanks
ReplyDeleteHi I vac and mop (with water and a bit of washing up liquid) the floors as normal. I did it a couple of years ago now and am going to give the high traffic areas a bit of a top up, but those areas even If I left them are still looking 100 times better than the orange laminate. Someone is trying it with white garage floor paint, don't know how that worked out but sounds like it should. Good luck with it.
ReplyDeleteLooks great! What would be an equivalent product in Canada?
ReplyDeleteHi, I think any garage floor paint should work.
ReplyDeleteHi, this is potentially a game changer! My floor is "antique oak" from back in the day when IKEA did laminate.10+ years on and the knot and worl patterns look as naff to me as "beech" laminate looked in the 2000s.
ReplyDeleteProblem is I have other priorities going on and simply cba replacing the floor, whether I pay to get it done or do it myself.
I couldn't find ANYTHING that would reliably fix a stain to a surface like laminate until this- convinced that at very least I'd have to key the entire floor.
Thanks!
You need to give it a very light sanding first.
DeleteGive it a try on a hidden piece first.
3? 4? years on, it still looks better than the untouched orange (my work room floor is the placebo of untouched orange laminate).
Good luck
Great post! I'm planning to give our living room floor an updated look. My laminated floors also have been treated with wood laquer. Could you tell me if yours were too?
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteNo my floors are just standard untreated laminate flooring before I did this.
Good luck, let me know how it turns out.
Lynn
Mine are a cherry color which I hate after 18 years. I wonder what the white would look like? So tempted
ReplyDelete