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Anonymous
Anonymous asked in Home & GardenDecorating & Remodeling · 9 years ago

How to remove paint from hardwood flooring?

So today my mom asked me to tear up the carpet on the main floor of her house, as there is hardwood underneath. Come to find out the wonderful people who built the house painted the rooms (all white) before they put carpet atop the hardwood. These terrific painters got white paint alllllll over the floors in every room, so white paint stains are numerous and sizeable in a sizeable amount of floor coverage. These floors have been carpeted for at the very least 8 years, and while i understand dabbing paint spots with a rag and boiling water followed by brush scrubbing is a great method, it'll probably take me a month to do this to allll the paint. Any suggestions on how to tackle a wider range of aged paint spill on hardwood floor?

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  • Anonymous
    9 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    depending on what the paint is you can get paint remover or you can get very fine sand paper and sand out

  • 9 years ago

    The solution is definitely to sand and refinish the floors. Sanding will remove all of the paint fairly easily. An even cheaper option may be to rent a floor buffer and do what is called a buff and recoat. This involves buffing the floor with a 220 grit sanding screen. The buffing should remove a lot of the paint and it will abrade the finish so that a new coating would bond to it.

  • 9 years ago

    A lot of sites online with paint removal recommendations.

    Unfortunately there is no fast way to do this tedius job.

    If you want to try and keep the finish intact, go slowly and use the safest options along with a plastic putty knife for scraping the softened paint off.

    You can do a room at a time and come back the next day for another go at it. If it's going to be too much work, the other option is getting all the floors refinished by a pro.

    Call around for estimates on that to see if it's worth it.

    Here are some sites...http://www.wood-floor-guide.com/wood-floor-care/re...

    http://homeimprovement.lovetoknow.com/Remove_Paint...

    Source(s): Professional Painter
  • 9 years ago

    Goof-off is a great liquid that can get almost anything out of anything. Test a little in a small area first for colorfastness. Refinishing the hardwood is the best way to really bring life back to your hardwoods (sanding, staining and painting with a clear protective coat). Once you get your floors looking new, Mohawk offers Hardwood and Laminate FloorCare Essentials Kit that can keep your floors looking like new. Check them out at http://www.flooring-nc.com/floor-care/hardwood-lam...

    Source(s): Floors To Go www.flooring-nc.com
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  • Anonymous
    9 years ago

    You can remove the paint from the hardwood flooring using alcohol. Regarding with your problem about the sizeable part of floor coverage, try to fill the whole area with alcohol and covered it with a large plastic so as not to evaporate. Then, try to pulled it out as soon as possible. Hope I can helped. I do have the same problem with you and I alcohol is a big help!

  • 9 years ago

    Hire a floor sander. They are very heavy, very noisy and very dusty but they do a great job. You will have to buy the special sanding sheets to use from the hire shop (they will refund for unused sheets). Make sure you have no protruding nail heads or other metallic remnants of the carpeting (e.g. staples used for underlay) as these will tear your sanding sheets to shreds. You will probably need a smaller sander to get into the corners and edges too. And tape over doors to other rooms - the dust gets everywhere!

  • Anonymous
    5 years ago

    Your best bet would to go to any hardware store and buy something called goof off or goo gone, just pour some on a rag and rub the spot/spots gently until it comes off. It is safe to use on just about anything and usually runs like 3 or 4 dollars. Other products will work but may damage your flooring. Good Luck.

  • 9 years ago

    The only good way to bring these hardwood floors back is to have them sanded and refinished by a professional. Expect to spend about $3.50/square foot to have this done by a reputable hardwood refinisher.

  • Anonymous
    9 years ago

    You could use the boiling water method, but if the floors are scratched up, your best bet is to get it sanded down, and refinished.

    Also, is there solid wood door and window trim that they painted over as well? Strip that down too, and refinish it, and use the same stain as the floors. That would look really nice.

  • Anonymous
    9 years ago

    Gotta sand it down. You can do it yourself and it'll look awful or hire someone. Right now you can find people to do it cheap. 1.5-2.5 a sqft depending on the size of the room.

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