I have been cleaning my house and I washed the painted cork tiles in my foyer. I thought I should write an update-post on the success of the venture as my original site is getting a lot of traffic. See here
It hasn't been the success I wanted although the effect is exactly what I was looking for.
The paving paint gives the surface a slight texture - not quite smoothe. It feels good with bare feet.
We put a sealer on for the first coat - recommended sealer from the local paint shop in Prahran 'ESP Easy Surface Prep' it says it is a product made from penetrol. My original choice was a Resene sealer but it was too hard to find in Melbourne.
The blurb on the ESP says that it avoids chipping and there is no need to de-gloss or sand before you paint. It took ages to dry far longer than it said on the can.
I have now given the floor 4 coats of paving paint ( I thought paving paint would be harder and wear better under foot). After the first 2 coats I found it chipped so I darkened the colour a little and gave it two more. The darker colour was because I thought the original colour too stark and glaring. Now it seems more durable but then I am more careful and treat it delicately.
I still have the old worn cork tiles in the kitchen which is a much larger space and I would like to paint them but I need a method that can withstand heavy duty traffic. If you know of anything or have painted cork tiles yourself, please let me know how it went. Any info would be helpful.
14 comments:
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Hello Em,
so glad that you wrote about painting cork tiles! I attempted to do this in the kitchen with less impressive results than you. I was advised to sand, seal then paint but the paving paint that I used was not compatible with the PVA sealer. It is a non water based paving paint.
I have now stripped the gunk. I wa s advised that penetrol maybe useful so I tried a few test strips and the paint is still sticky.
Do you know what type of paint you used, it looks great! Cheers N
Dear Nanda
Hi Nanda
I used White Knight Ultra Pave which is water based, satin finished paving paint. Recommended for concrete and all flooring. I think Dulux and more available brands have a similar paving paint. Where I live there is a lot of cork tile flooring and it surprises me that the paint companies and shops are so ignorant about how to paint them.
I asked in a Dulux specialty place and they didn't know. Very strange because it is lovely to have that dreary brown painted out.
Best of luck Em
Hi Carly I hope you get this answer.I have now painted kitchen in a colour called White Duck. There isn't a brown cork tile in site now!!
I have used Berger Jet Dry Non Slip. It has an additive which helps it stick to the surface - there is no need for a sealer. It is a great success. I use a mat in front of the sink/bench as I spend a lot of time standing there. Good luck if you try it. I love the colour and the whole look. Em
Hi, I am just buying a house with heavily marked and sun bleached cork tiles in the kitchen/dining room (which is also used as the main entrance as it opens to deck). It gets very heavy traffic (with the odd bit of soccer).
I want to go to classic black and white tiles here but don't want lino and don't want cold tiles so am tempted to paint the cork black and white. My husband thinks I am mad and it will wear and chip super quick.
Any thoughts or experiences would be welcomed!
Hi BB I am very happy with mine. I have done the kitchen as well. My tiles there are very damaged. If you look closely you can still see the scrapes and dints but it isn't very noticeable. This time I used an oil based paint - lots of smell but they are wearing better. Mine were done with a roller. I don't know how you would get on making them black and white. Best of luck Em
BB I am looking at painting our old cork floor in hallways black and white = how did you go? Worth doing and any tips?
Hi Nicky
My cork tiles have worn reasonably well but it has been suggested to me that I could have used Annie Sloan's Chalk PaintTM
It is said to be very hard wearing on floors. I'm not sure where you are but here's a link to the Melbourne supplier of the paint
http://www.melbourneplaces.com/melbourne/chalk-painttm-at-french-and-co/
and for Annie Sloan's web site http://www.anniesloan.com/
I hope you have some success - let us know how you go. Em
Hi Em,
I know this is an extremely old post but just wanted to see how your painted cork floors were holding up? We are looking to brighten up our bonus room space (painting dark brown cork planks to white).
Also, kudos to you for being brave enough to forge ahead when there's very little information anywhere about painting cork floors!
Just had a few other questions as well:
1. You mentioned using Berger Jet Dry Non Slip for your kitchen. Is this what you would recommend if you were to paint cork flooring in the future? Why do you think the Annie's Chalk Paint was recommended to you (what were the pros and cons of using either paint product)? I'm looking for more of a satin finish so not sure the chalk paint would turn out as well.
2. How does the Berger paint feel under bare feet? Somehow, I worry about paint feeling sticky/tacky rather than smooth underfoot.
3. Are the floors easy to clean? I'm imagining using a light vacuum or Swiffer whenever we need to dust/wipe the surface, similar to what we did when the floors were their original cork plank.
4. In terms of any fumes and how long the paint took to dry, can you comment on this? We are actually looking to convert the space into a future nursery so trying to weigh the toxicity / how this might affect air quality in the long term.
5. In areas that have been worn over the years, do you simply see cracks/lines where the cork plank outlines are, or how would you describe the nature of the worn areas in general?
Thanks so much for your response, Em! Sorry for all my detailed questions!!!!
Thank you for sharing like this information on cork floors. This is the most easy way of learning. This helps me to get some idea regarding this and helps me to bring a creative thought.
Thank you for giving me insight, tips and information on this. It helps me a lot! Can’t wait to read more updates from you.
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