What Is Pickle Flooring?

Paint

• For pickled flooring, you'll need white, off-white or light-colored paint that you thin before applying. The paint gives your floor a white-washed look that allows the wood grain to show through. If you use a water-based latex paint, thin it with about 25 percent water; if you use oil-based paint, thin it with mineral spirits. To achieve a pure white floor color, apply wood bleach before painting.

Prep Work

• Before painting, remove all previous finishes or paint by sanding. Using a floor sander is the easiest way to accomplish this; it also makes the floor surface smooth. If you're going for a primitive effect, you can leave some traces of the previous finish or paint. Sweep or mop away all the dust after sanding.

Painting Techniques

• The tool you'll use to paint depends on the effect you want. A bristle brush is fine, but a rag creates a more antique look. You can even use your hand in some areas. Follow the wood grain, rub the paint in and allow it to dry. Repeat the process as many times as you like to obtain the finish you prefer. You also can sand the floor again without removing all of the paint, and then repaint, for a more weathered look. Another technique involves using paint without thinning it first, then wiping much of it away with a clean rag.

Considerations

• Different types of wood react differently to pickling. The species of wood and its age affect the final color unless you bleach it first. Red oak may have a slight pink tint on many boards, for example, while a white oak floor might have an almond tint, according to Inter-County Floor Sanding of New York's Long Island.