The Floor Paint Essentials: Types and Uses

Painted floors can bring both visual and practical benefits to an indoor or outdoor space. However, regular paints are unsuitable for use on floors, and will quickly wear away if applied. Depending on whether you are looking to paint a concrete or wooden floor you will have options available to you, designed to resist both foot traffic and provide resistance against various substances. In this guide from Building Materials Nationwide, we’ll look at the various floor types that can be painted, and some of the products used to do this.

What is Floor Paint?

Floor paint is the term for any paint that is intended to be used on a floor. Paint for a floor will need to offer durability and resistance, meaning that traditional paints will not be suitable. Floor paints will also need to be easy to clean, as floors naturally collect dust and grime. This can be especially pronounced in exterior settings, or areas with high foot traffic, where a robust performance is vital.

Where is Floor Paint Used?

There are a few different surfaces where floor paint should be used. From concrete garage floors to wooden floorboards or stairs within a house, specialised floor paint can be used to create both attractive and highly durable surfaces. Painted floors may include the following:

Concrete Flooring

When looking to paint a concrete floor, epoxy paint can be used to create a bright and resistant surface. This will create a level surface and can be used for both domestic and commercial flooring. Concrete floor paint can be useful in places like laboratories or hospitals, or for garage floors or balconies within a home.

For less heavy-duty environments, more traditional concrete paints are available, though these will often be lacking in terms of performance in comparison to epoxy options. 

Wooden Flooring

Painting the wooden floorboards of a house or shed can help to rejuvenate the surface, creating a light and modern look - as well as some extra protection for the timber itself. There are specialist floor paints designed for wooden floors from companies like Ronseal and Rust-Oleum that are available in a wide range of colours and provide long-lasting resistance. Wooden floor paints can come in a range of sheens from matt to gloss.

Stairs

Alongside painting wooden floorboards, any wooden stairs within a property will also need to be painted with suitable floor paint.

Laminate Flooring

Laminate floors are not traditionally designed to be painted, but for those looking to change the look of their floors paint can be used. There won't be specific paint options available, but wooden floor paint can be a useful option to apply to a laminate surface.

Tiled Flooring

Whether looking to change the look of tiles or to hide scuffed or worn tiles, floor paint can be used to give a new look to an indoor space. Heavy-duty tile paint is available, but other floor paints will also perform well. The coat of primer needed to adhere paint to tiles will also allow you to switch colours without any bleedthrough.

What Types of Floor Paint Are Sold?

When looking for floor paint there is a range of different products on sale, from epoxy paints for commercial concrete flooring to heavy-duty paints for wooden floors. There are also specialist types of floor paint that give specific benefits to a floor, such as slip resistance or quick drying.

Epoxy Resin Floor Paint

Epoxy resin creates a solid, level painted floor over concrete, with great durability and a range of benefits. Epoxy resin painted floors require careful priming, two layers of epoxy, and two coats of a protective finish. This will create a tough and long-lasting surface resistant to weight, contact, grease, acid, and oil resistance. This will be excellent for industrial environments like factories, warehouses, or large garage floors. 

Epoxy resin floor paint can be used in domestic buildings, but due to its higher cost will not be the first choice for most people.

You will also be able to find antiseptic epoxy floor paint, which is perfect for environments such as hospitals and kitchens. Another option is self-levelling epoxy, which is designed to offer an easier installation with a perfect finish. 

Epoxy flooring is not usually wholly waterproof. Instead, it is usually described as water-resistant or dampproof.

Polyurethane Floor Paint

Like epoxy, this will create a durable surface over concrete floors. Polyurethane floor paints offer an attractive surface and are softer than epoxy options, with solid resistance. It lacks the high-level strength of epoxy, making it more suited to lower-intensity environments or more visual uses. It comes in a range of attractive colours, with low-key or extremely vibrant options.

Exterior Floor Paint

You will find outdoor floor paints available, both for masonry surfaces like concrete paving and wooden decking. While masonry paint is used as exterior paint for bricks and blocks, it is not designed to resist pooling water and footfall - so it should not be used on external floors. 

Anti-Slip Floor Paint

Anti-slip concrete floor paints will be available, with additives included to aid slip resistance. This can bring benefits to dangerous environments, or places where people are likely to bring in water on their shoes. Non-slip epoxy floor paint bolsters the health and safety of a workspace.

Quick Drying Floor Paint

Standard epoxy floor paints take multiple days to be usable, requiring lengthy drying and setting periods for each coat. There are alternative quick-drying epoxy paints available, which will dry fast enough to complete both coats within a day. For places such as retail environments or warehouses, this means that the entire floor can be completed and usable within a weekend.

High Build Floor Paint

Any floor paint offered as a high build is designed to offer great performance in heavy-duty environments, such as those with vehicles and high foot traffic. This would make it a good option as a garage floor paint, though it will come with a higher price tag than other options.

Rubberised Floor Paint

This is a one-coat option, providing a rubberised surface that boasts resistance to a wide variety of liquids and chemicals.

Building Supplies Delivered Across the UK

Building Materials Nationwide aims to remove the hassle of sourcing building supplies, offering a huge range of products delivered to you, all at a great price. For customers working within the industry, we offer trade accounts, which give access to a dedicated account manager. 

Your account manager will be there for whatever you need, sourcing materials through our large network of suppliers. Whether you need floor paint or any other building supplies, they can be delivered to you at great trade pricing. Open a trade account through our website today, or speak to us through the form below.