Wood floors

[GinAndOnIt]

I need to sort out our wood floors before I slowly lose the plot but we're a bit broke at the moment. If you can't be bothered to read the essay back story below, my question is at the bottom

All the wood itself is in good condition, but it's all been paint splattered by the previous owners. Ideally we should sand them all, but a) we can't afford that and b) it is just so much effort. We sanded the landing before we realised what an annoying job it was so that's sorted, and I am desperately trying to convince DP to sand the living room floor after harvest has finished too.

I've decided to paint the spare bedrooms' floor white, because I had white floor paint anyway, and DP/pets don't go in those rooms so it won't be hard to keep clean. Our main problem is our bedroom. It's quite a large space so DP won't even consider sanding it himself (can't say I blame him) and we can't afford to pay someone else to do it. I've scrubbed it with sugar soap and it really is gorgeous, but it's absolutely covered in white and black paint, all over. All around the edge of the skirting, and in big thick blobs everywhere else. I want it to be dark brown wood in there because it will just constantly look filthy otherwise with farmer DP and black fur from pets. I thought I could paint it all brown, but I can't find any pictures of anyone else having done that, and I also can't find brown floor paint on the market.

So my question is, would a very dark brown varnish suitably cover paint splatters? It doesn't need to be perfectly covered, but just covered enough so it's not glaringly obvious. The Dulux Dark Walnut Woodsheen looks a lovely colour, but just not sure how much coverage it will give.

(I'll upload pics of paint if that will help?)

[Wombat87]

No idea, but perhaps you'd have to go over the white bits a few times? Can you not get a very small tin and see if it covers in a non conspicuous area?

[OurBlanche]

If you have the varnish try it over one of the blobs... worst case scenario is you will add a little bit to what may need to be sanded anyway

[Wombat87]

No idea, but perhaps you'd have to go over the white bits a few times? Can you not get a very small tin and see if it covers in a non conspicuous area?

[GinAndOnIt]

That's a good point, if it goes wrong it will have to be sanded anyway, so I won't have lost anything.

The other thing I thought might work, is if I used a primer on the wood first, like white primer with dark stain on the top? But then I'm not sure if it would lose the rustic look of the wood that way.

[wowfudge]

I'd bite the bullet and sand it. Could you hire a large sander? The boards could be waxed with a dark wax.

[GinAndOnIt]

We can get a sander for free, that's not the issue. I can't do it myself for various reasons and DP is never home! So we'd have to pay someone else to do it, and we can't afford that.

I had a go at scraping the paint off yesterday, and scrubbing like mad (again) and it's made a difference, so I think I'm going to try and chip away at that a little bit every day, and maybe use a little hand sander for the stubborn bits of paint. I'd tried to get the paint off before and it wouldn't budge, so I'm feeling a bit more hopeful about it now.

DP says he will sand the lounge floor though (hurrah!) but not until winter.

[Qwebec]

A word of caution: very dark floors and pale floors are a a nightmare/impossible to keep clean. Everything shows.

[GinAndOnIt]

Everything shows on very dark floors?! Oh no! I thought that would be the best choice for black pets and muddy farmer!

[wowfudge]

That's true about the colour - the best for hiding dirt is a mid colour. If you wax the wood instead of painting it, you'll get the grain of the wood showing.

[Qwebec]

second what wowfudge says.
Varnished/waxed with minimum/no stain is the best for easy maintenance wood floors.

[GinAndOnIt]

The landing which has a medium oak stain does seem to be the floor I sweep the least... Hmm maybe I need to show proof of this to DP. I really love dark wood though, I wonder if it's worth the extra upkeep.