Painting a wooden floor with a matte look

Make sure that the floor is thoroughly clean and degreased before applying the paint. There should be no oily substances and the floor must be free of dirt and dust. You can degrease using soapy water with Polarsken linseed oil soap. Scrub the floor well with a brush. For heavily dirty or greasy floors, you might want to use a hard brush or a scrubbing machine. After scrubbing, rinse the floor with plenty of water to remove any soap residue. Inspect the floor for any damage that you may want to repair or fill before proceeding.

Sand the wood to ensure it is receptive to the paint. Especially an old wooden floor needs to be sanded thoroughly. It may have several layers of wax, oil, or varnish, which can disrupt the adhesion of a new layer.

As the varnish works like a magnifying glass, it’s important that your floor is smooth and even. If your floor is very old, contains multiple layers of paint, and it’s difficult to get an even surface, you may want to consider applying a primer first.

We definitely recommend using a stain-blocking primer if your floor has a lot of tannin and you are choosing a lighter paint colour. Tannin (or tannic acid) is a natural substance found especially in oak wood, but it can also occur in other wood types, particularly if the wood contains many dark knots.

When tannin comes into contact with water-based products, such as our paint and varnish, it is activated and begins to ‘bleed’ from the wood. This causes yellow or brown stains. These stains are more noticeable on lighter colours (such as white or light grey) than on darker colours.

Grundfärg primer has a solid white colour, which means you will likely need fewer coats of paint to get full coverage if you are opting for a white finish. If you prefer a whitewash, a transparent primer would be more suitable. Please contact us for further advice on this.

To test the adhesion of your substrate, we always recommend making a test piece first. This also allows you to directly test whether your wood has strong tannin seeping through the paint layer.

It is possible to order a paint sample and a sample of our lacquer.

Time to start painting the wooden floor! Apply the paint to your wooden floor with a paint brush or roller. Usually, 2 coats of Moose F are sufficient for a covering result. With white paint, you may need a third coat. There is no need to sand between the paint coats.

Let the floor dry thoroughly. How long this takes depends on the temperature and humidity in the room. In summer weather, with a temperature of 20 °C and sufficient ventilation, the paint is repaintable after 8 hours. You can then start varnishing after 2 days.

Please keep in mind that drying time is longer during the colder winter months. In a room with closed windows and no heating, the drying time can extend to weeks. Preferably turn on the heating in winter and make sure that there is sufficient ventilation.

Some of our customers choose to only use paint on their wooden floors (without a finishing layer of Topp), because they want the full matt look. We always recommend varnishing the floor with Topp lacquer. This creates a solid protective layer on your floor and ensures that you are maintenance-free for years.

Make sure to shake the bottle of varnish very well before use! If you do not mix well, differences in the matt finish will occur. The varnish can be applied directly to the paint without sanding, use a roller or brush. Let the varnish dry thoroughly after the first coat. Same as with the painted layer, the drying time depends on room temperature and humidity. At 20 °C and low humidity, you can add the second layer of varnish after 8 hours. If the room temperature is lower and/or more humid, wait 24 hours before applying the second layer.

Before the final treatment with Topp, sand very lightly with 100 -120 grit paper to remove loose fibres from the wood and to improve the adhesion of the final coat. Remember to remove all of the sanding dust before applying the final coat of lacquer.

Let the floor dry thoroughly after applying all coats of lacquer. After the last coat, you can walk on the floor after 24 hours (with socks!). Lighter furniture can usually be (re)installed – with care – after 3 days. Wait a week with heavier furniture or heavy carpets. Be very careful when using the surface during the first four weeks (avoid moving furniture, etc.), as the varnish cures completely during this time.