I have a coat of non-transparent paint (not sure what type, it was painted about 20 years ago) on my floor. I'd like to see the wood grain. So I am trying to figure out a simple DIY way to remove the paint without damaging the wood. I've looked into this, but I have never done anything like this, so I am confused. Maybe somebody can suggest something?
Wood – How to remove paint from a wood floor
paintremovalrepaintingwood
Related Topic
- What can you tell me about old red primer on wood
- Wood – Fixing peeling paint on timber cladding
- Make the interior paint rainproof
- Wood Painting Primer Stain – How to rectify tannin staining through paint?
- Indoor or outdoor paint for wheelchair ramp inside garage
- The trim in the house won’t hold paint. Is there a solution to this
Best Answer
Removing painted to expose wood grain requires significant effort. How much effort depends on the type of wood, the type of paint, and how much paint has been applied.
The simplest approach is sanding. If the wood is thick and you have access to a professional sanding machine, this can be done, but this process generates a great deal of dust that needs to be collected, and, if the paint is old, presents a lead hazard. Mask, vacuuming and heavy duty filters are required.
Chemical stripping avoids most of the airborn dust (and lead) and can remove the bulk of the finish. A follow-up sanding is needed. There are several new citrus based strippers that are fairly effective and avoid the more toxic chemicals of the solvent based strippers.
If the wood is open grained (like oak) it is likely that paint will remain in the grain, necessitating a deeper final sanding.
If the floor is very small, hand scraping is possible, but again, masks and vacuuming are essential and again, a final sanding is necessary to get it ready for finish coats.
Sanding of floors is almost always done with larger commercial type units, using ever finer grades of sandpaper. If the area is small and you are patient, a hand-held belt sander, or even an orbital sander may work.