Floor Care

Floor Care

Varnish or paint is the first decision and it comes down to whether the floor is worth showing. Varnish keeps timber visible and is the choice for boards in reasonable condition, available clear where you want no colour change or tinted in oak and pine shades where you do. Paint covers, and is the answer for concrete, for garage and utility floors, and for timber too damaged or mismatched to be worth exposing. Between gloss and satin, gloss reflects more light and shows every scuff, dust mark and imperfection, while satin is far more forgiving on a floor taking daily traffic, which is why most of this range is stocked in satin. Bare timber usually wants a polyurethane sealer first, which soaks in and stops the topcoat being drunk unevenly by the boards. Stairs and steps are a separate problem because they are the highest wear surface in a house and a slip risk when coated, which is what textured step and tile paint is for. Tin sizes should be worked out from the coverage figure on the tin against your floor area, then multiplied by the number of coats, because a floor almost never takes one. As a rule 250ml and 500ml suit a set of steps, 2.5 litre covers a room, and 5 litre is better value across a whole floor and keeps the batch consistent throughout.

Rustins is the widest range, with quick drying floor varnish in clear gloss and clear satin at 1 litre, 2.5 litre and 5 litre, tinted satin varnish in light, medium and dark oak at 2.5 litre, a 1 litre polyurethane satin floor sealer in clear, and step and tile paint in black and tile red including a 250ml tin, a 500ml gloss and a textured version for grip. Ronseal covers the Diamond Hard range at 2.5 litre in antique pine, medium oak, rich mahogany and white wash, with clear mellow gloss and satin at 2.5 litre and 5 litre. Johnstones supplies Flortred floor paint in 5 litre tins in princess grey and dark grey, and Bondex a 2.5 litre satin woodstain protection in oak. For woodwork above floor level see Interior Woodcare, and for general decorating All Purpose Paint.