Why you should always use a primer on wooden floors

When you are finishing off a freshly sanded floor, having spent all that time going through the grit changes and taking care of sanding the edges and corners, the last thing you may want to think about is applying primers and finishes.

But primers make all the difference! Here, we give the reason why you should go to the extra length of applying a primer when you are lacquering a floor.

The first question to ask is what category the floor fits into. Is it soft, hard, exotic? The answer to this question will influence the what sort of primer you choose to apply.

With your soft and hardwoods, you can predominantly use water-based primers and finishes, such as the Pallmann 325 which is blue angle standard and quality and sealed to have low VOC. Find more information about standards and water-based products in our Eco Revolution blog.

With your exotic Timber floors, it is advisory to use an alcohol-based primer. Although these do carry a high content of alcohol and VOC’s, the alcohol base creates a barrier coat over wood containing contaminants such as oils, resins, and pigments. Although you can use a water-based or solvent-based primer on either of your soft, hard, or exotic timbers, these are to help you reach the goal of prolonging the life and look of the floor.

Why else should you use a primer?

Using primer will help with the prevention of Panelisation and Side bonding. Side-bonding occurs when lacquers flow between the gaps of floorboards and are bonded together acting as glue. When this happens to several boards close together, this is called Panelisation. Over the seasons as the wooden floor will expand and contract, the side bonded boards will move as one allowing larger gaps to form in certain places or crowning to become visible. Applying a primer can help prevent this from happening. The primer will act as a barrier between the floor and the topcoat, allowing adhesion to the primer rather than the boards.

If you can take anything away from this piece about primers it should be this... The primer is an important part of the process and is important to prolong the life of the floor. Which lets face it, is why wooden floors are sanded and sealed! You can check out all of our primers here.